The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) has denied a Petition for Reconsideration filed by General Communications, Inc., (GCI) of an Order granting USTelecom national forbearance from statutory provisions and FCC rules governing incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) interexchange equal access and dialing parity. GCI sought partial reconsideration of the Order, arguing that the FCC failed to adequately consider the unique equal access needs of rural Alaskan communities, areas outside the municipal boundaries of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, which lack basic infrastructure such as interconnected roads and electric grids and that merited a carve-out from the nationwide scope of the Order. The WCB denied GCI’s Petition as procedurally defective because GCI failed to present any justification for relying on new arguments and facts not previously presented to the FCC, or an explanation as to why it did not participate earlier in proceeding.
