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LB3 is proud to be a leading voice of large telecom users at the FCC and in the industry. Browse recent articles quoting us on issues of importance to large users, as well as some pieces by and about the firm below.
 

Justin Castillo tells The Voice Report how carrier-drafted non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) threaten the interests of enterprise customers. Unwary customers who sign these NDAs may lose the ability to use third-party telecom consultants and managers, and they may be unable to use vital information in benchmarkings and procurements.For the full article, click here.

Colleen Boothby tells The Voice Report how enterprise customers can stabilize pricing for Verizon special access purchased after FCC-mandated price freezes expire in July 2008. Boothby recommends two-year deals with multiple renewal terms. For the full article, click here.

Kevin DiLallo tells Network World what the future of wireless open access rules will mean for enterprise customers. What Will Open Access Mean to You?

Colleen Boothby provides an update on special access regulation in this podcast.

Hank Levine tells the Voice Report that AT&T’s NDA is "appallingly one-sided and likely illegal."

In the August 6, 2007 edition of the Voice Report, LB3’s Hank Levine warned against signing the boilerplate NDA that AT&T Wireless (formerly Cingular) has been presenting to the consultants to enterprise customers. One egregious example of the NDA’s overreaching is AT&T’s attempt to claim ownership of customer billing information, including Customer Proprietary Network Information, over which customers have control under the Communications Act. Customers should not allow their consultants to sign the NDA, as that would greatly complicate RFPs, benchmarkings and rate reviews. To see a copy of the Cingular NDA, click here.

LB3's Colleen Boothby Warns that Industry Consolidation and FCC Deregulation Could Lead to Price Hikes for Enterprise Customers

In a speech reported by Computer World, LB3's Colleen Boothby warned IT managers to prepare for price increases for network services after years of decline, thanks to industry consolidation and the FCC's current regulatory policies. She advised IT managers to start planning for price increases and to brief their management teams on pricing trends to avoid disruptions to their budgets and network planning. Boothby also urged enterprise customers to lobby their elected officials and regulators to stop price-gouging by network service providers.

Among the regulatory issues of concern to enterprise customers, Boothby cited changes in the funding mechanism for the Universal Service Fund, which currently adds 10.9% to the cost of interstate and international services. Under current FCC regulations, the fund will collect more than $7 billion in 2006, with enterprise customers paying a disproportionate share, she said. Boothby also cited two other factors that could soon cause price increases: the FCC's aggressive and uninformed deregulation of business broadband services and the telecom megamergers.

Boothby told enterprise customers to protect their interests in a competitive telecom marketplace by participating in proceedings before their state commissions and the FCC.

Click here for the full article.

LB3's Marc Lindsey Discusses Balancing and Corporate interests when Implementing Location-Based Services.

In an article entitled "From Calling 911 to Tracking Truckers - New Apps for GPS in Phones: Benefit or Big Brother?," Voice Report observed that companies are increasingly using GPS-enabled mobile phones to track their employees' whereabouts. LB3’s Marc Lindsey offered several suggestions to companies deploying location-based services. First, they should only use such services to satisfy legitimate business objectives. Second, they should advise their employees (in writing) how the location information will be used. Finally, they should choose location-based services that can be configured not to collect location information when employees are off the clock or travel to locations that they designate as "sensitive" areas.

Click here to obtain a complete copy of the article.

LB3 Fights for Enterprise Customers Against Verizon Bid to De-Regulate Business Broadband Services

On behalf of 22 enterprise customers who belong to the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee, LB3 is challenging an attempt by Verizon to get wholesale de-regulation of its broadband business services. As reported by ComputerWorld, Verizon filed a petition with the FCC to de-regulate some of its “special access” services, aka broadband business services. The FCC Commissioners deadlocked in a 2-2 tie over whether to reject or modify the petition so it automatically took effect without changes to protect enterprise customers. LB3’s Colleen Boothby told ComputerWorld, “[a]nybody who buys these services for a living knows that the market for business broadband just isn’t competitive. That may be a politically inconvenient fact, but it’s still a fact.” Until last year, long distance companies like AT&T and MCI provided a buffer between enterprise customers and Verizon’s steep increases in special access prices over the past few years. But after last year’s mergers of Verizon with MCI and SBC with AT&T, enterprise customers can no longer depend on long distance companies to keep Verizon’s prices competitive and insulate end users from Verizon’s price increases. “Verizon was already price-gouging customers while it was regulated, and this action significantly raises the risk for prices to increase on the broadband building blocks [used by] enterprise customers,” said Boothby, who filed comments opposing the petition on behalf of the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee. “This kind of decision -- to give Verizon what it wants regardless of whether that hurts customers -- is what gives Washington a bad name.” She noted that an appeal of the FCC’s decision was almost inevitable.

http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/outsourcing/isptelecom/
story/0,10801,109818,00.html

The Net Neutrality Debate: LB3’s Jim Blaszak Tells eWEEK about the Stakes for Enterprise Customers.

LB3’s Jim Blaszak recently discussed the net neutrality debate with eWEEK and how departing from net neutrality could harm enterprise customers.

Under the principle of net neutrality, network owners are neutral about the content they carry. This principle has come under fire recently as top executives from the RBOCs and the cable industry have suggested that they might begin to extract tolls for priority network access from content providers and others. Abandoning net neutrality "is something the commercial sector generally should be concerned about,” Blaszak told eWEEK. He also questioned why carriers should be paid twice for the use of their network: "If I pay for the loop that gets me access to the network, why is it that someone who wants to send me something should also pay?"

Blaszak also expressed concern that abandoning net neutrality might lead to a slippery slope: “What if [the carriers] say, ‘to get to your customers for you to sell your wares, we want a share of your revenues?’ Once you buy into the notion that the telephone companies should be able to charge entities other than those that are buying access to the Internet, I don't know where you stop."

For the full article, go to http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1917175,00.asp

Phone+ Magazine Talks with LB3’s Colleen Boothby about the Conditions Imposed by the FCC on the Telecom Megamergers.

In the December edition of Phone+ magazine, LB3’s Colleen Boothby analyzed the merger conditions imposed by the FCC on the AT&T-SBC and the MCI-Verizon mergers. She noted that, although the FCC considered some enterprise and CLEC interests, “the special access prices are way too high. It really distorts the whole marketplace.” Boothby also expressed approval for the FCC’s conditions regarding net neutrality and backbone peering. Finally, she said that requiring the Bells to offer naked DSL would be a boon to CLECs with enterprise customers. “What they want DSL for is a cheaper alternative to T1s at locations where they need lower volumes than T1. And DSL is a perfect service for a lot of enterprise customers,” she explained.

For the full article, go to http://www.phoneplusmag.com/articles/5c1carrier01.html

Telecom Industry Consolidation: What it Means for Enterprise Customers

LB3’s Jim Blaszak Explains why Enterprise Customers Must Make Their Voices Heard.

LB3’s Jim Blaszak explained to Network World why it is important for enterprise customers to work together for a more competitive telecommunications marketplace. Blaszak described the work of the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee, of which he is counsel. Network World wrote:

Blaszak said that Ad Hoc is a group of about 20 large companies from a broad range of industry sectors, including financial services, manufacturing, insurance, retail, accounting and consulting, transportation, and information services. "What the members all have in common is that they are IT and telecom-intensive companies - they spend enough money in both areas to care about keeping prices as low as possible. Ad Hoc accepts no carrier/vendor funding and no telecom service providers as members. Maintaining its independence is critically important because Ad Hoc's principal reason for being is the representation of its members' interests in regulatory matters pending before government agencies and the courts," he wrote.

He noted that Ad Hoc's interests and positions often diverge from those of carriers and vendors. "As the only end user group that digs into these issues on a consistent, long-term basis, Ad Hoc has had a huge impact over the last 25 years on the FCC rules that push IT and telecom prices down," he said.

He said that due to the numerous activities of the group, "Ad Hoc members have invaluable advance information for making their deployment and procurement decisions. Enterprise users who don't have this information proceed at their own peril. Finally, the group is a great learning and networking opportunity for member company representatives.

To learn more about Ad Hoc, you can e-mail Blaszak (JBlaszak@llb3law.com), or Colleen Boothby (CBoothby@lb3law.com), another attorney at Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby, who has represented Ad Hoc. "Thanks to Ad Hoc, enterprise customers still have a home and a voice in Washington," Blaszak said.

The article concluded: “Bottom line in our opinion? The good news is that there is still some activity. However, the industry will ultimately suffer significantly in the long-term if we - as users - don't make our collective voice heard.”

http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/frame/2005/1010wan2.html

Colleen Boothby Describes the Technical Challenges Facing Wireless E911 Services.

PCWorld interviewed LB3’s Colleen Boothby about the technical challenges associated with pinpointing the exact location of a person making a call to 911 using a wireless handset. There are two primary ways of finding a person using a cell phone who dials 911: network-based solutions and handset-based solutions. According to Boothby, wireless E911 is "a lot better than it was five years ago." But the service is not where public officials want it to be because of some "very technical issues" that affect both network-based and handset-based solutions.

For the full article, go to http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,121744,00.asp

LB3’s Hank Levine appointed to New York Telecommunications Reliability Advisory Council Executive Board

On June 14, 2005, Thomas Flynn, Chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission, announced the membership of the New York Telecommunications Reliability Advisory Council Executive Board (NYTRAC), which includes LB3’s Hank Levine. NYTRAC is a panel of public-and private-sector telecommunications experts working to ensure an industry-wide exchange of information on emerging technologies and strategies to strengthen New York State’s telecommunications network. According to Chairman Flynn, NYTRAC will serve “as a forum for addressing reliability issues and ensuring that New York remains a national leader in providing reliable telecommunications service.” For more information, click here.

Welcome to Convergence: Surviving the Next Platform Change

Enterprise User Alert: FCC Imposes E911 Requirements on Certain VoIP Services
Andrew Brown and Colleen Boothby

LB3 Describes the Impact of the AT&T and MCI Megamergers on Enterprise Customers

LB3’s Hank Levine gave the Telecom Manager’s Voice Report his assessment of how enterprise customers should adjust their contracting strategies in the wake of the AT&T/SBC and MCI/Verizon (Qwest?) mergers. To learn Hank’s “Post-Merger Rules to Live By” and more, click here for the article.

LB3 Warns Enterprise Customers to Prepare for the Effects of Telecom Consolidation and to Pay Greater Attention to Regulatory Issues

LB3’s Colleen Boothby and Jim Blaszak told Computerworld that enterprise users should review their contracts with network services providers and develop plans to respond to the accelerating consolidation of the telecommunications industry. "Enterprise customers need to pay more attention to regulatory processes than in the past because the competitive forces that have protected them will be weakened," said Boothby, who represents enterprise users, including the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee, before the FCC. Blaszak added that enterprise customers that do not have strong contract language should “gird themselves for the possibility that current teams will change and shrink" as a result of post-merger cutbacks. http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/outsourcing/isptelecom/
story/0,10801,99574,00.html

BCR’s Editor Highlights the Importance of Regulatory Issues to Enterprise Customers

Eric Krapf, editor of Business Communications Review, wrote in the January 2005 edition that The RBOCs had a merry Christmas, courtesy of their favorite Santa, the FCC. In its new unbundling rules, issued in mid-December, the commission effectively closed the book on eight years of attempted deregulation of the local telephone loop, issuing new rules that make it almost prohibitively difficult for competitors to use unbundled network elements (UNEs) to offer services that compete with the RBOCs.

Krapf referred to “Key Regulatory Developments For Enterprise Customers” by LB3 attorneys Colleen Boothby and Jim Blaszak, in support of the proposition that the prospects for regulation’s effects on enterprise customers in 2005 are bleak because “enterprise customers increasingly [are] at the mercy of the ascendant RBOCs.” Krapf highlighted RBOC special access pricing, “and the FCC’s apparent indifference to the situation,” which combines to enable the RBOCs to earn an average 43.7 percent rate of return on special access, well above the authorized level of 11.25 percent. For more information, see Key Regulatory Developments For Enterprise Customers.

LB3 Provides Enterprise Customer’s Perspective on the Telecom Mega-Mergers to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times

LB3 attorneys Jim Blaszak and Hank Levine were quoted in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times on the impact of the AT&T/SBC and MCI/Verizon mergers on enterprise customers. See Peter Grant and Anne Marie Squeo, The Wall Street Journal, “What About the Customers?” February 15, 2005 at B1; Alexei Barrionuevo, The New York Times, “Reshaping Telecommunications: The Passing Of A Pioneer,” February 15, 2005 at C1.

Tax Notes Highlights LB3’s Successes in the Fight to Recover Federal Excise Taxes for Enterprise Customers.

The January 24, 2005 edition of Tax Notes highlighted LB3’s four victories in FET litigation against the government on behalf of enterprise customers and quoted LB3’s Steve Rosen. A copy of the article appears here.

LB3 has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Telecommunications Industry Association in the Supreme Court’s Brand X case. In that case, the Court is reviewing the FCC’s decision to classify cable modem service as an unregulated "information service" rather than a regulated "telecommunications" service. The brief explains the legal and technological reasons that justify the FCC’s long-standing refusal to regulate information services, including Internet access, and why those reasons apply equally to cable modem service.  View brief here.