Denver-based Qwest has refiled a petition seeking to lift pricing restrictions on broadband services it sells to competitors and large businesses.
Qwest is asking federal regulators for an expedited review because the new application is identical to the one the company filed in June and withdrew late Tuesday.
Shirley Bloomfield, senior vice president of Qwest federal relations, said the company withdrew the original petition because “it just became very clear that Qwest was not going to get all of the relief that we were looking for” as the deadline approached for regulators to rule.
Qwest is hoping the Federal Communications Commission will review the new petition, filed late Wednesday, when it rules on a similar request by AT&T next month.
“We figured that with the AT&T petition that is sitting out there … it might be wise to give the FCC a little bit more time to walk through some of these issues,” Bloomfield said Thursday.
Verizon Communications has already been granted relief.
Qwest noted Verizon’s situation in its request for an expedited review.
“Qwest and Verizon compete for enterprise broadband sales on a regulatory playing field that is sharply tilted in Verizon’s favor,” the company wrote in its application.
The FCC has set Thursday as the deadline to file comments on Qwest’s new petition. Douglas County-based Time Warner Telecom, among others, has said deregulation would lead to higher prices and fewer competitors.
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