AT and T Services, Inc., on behalf of its affiliate, AT and T Corp. (AT and T), has filed an application at the FCC pursuant to Section 214(a) of the Communications Act to discontinue Access Channel Service and Inter-Office Channel Service offered at T1, T3, OC3, OC12, and OC48 speeds, as well as AT&T Toll-Free MEGACOM Service throughout its service territories in the continental United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
AT and T will continue to offer grandfathered services to existing customers for some period of time. However, effective on or after June 15, 2023, pending regulatory approval, these services will no longer be available for purchase by new or existing customers, except as provided for in any existing contracts.
AT and T states that it will not renew any existing service agreements. AT&T currently plans to discontinue the Affected Services on or after October 30, 2026. You should review your existing AT&T contract to determine when it expires and when these services will not be available to you via your contract. If you purchase these services from a third-party vendor, you should contact the vendor to determine when the vendor will no longer be able to resell these services.
It is anticipated that the FCC will release a public notice regarding this application no later than May 15, 2023. Once the application appears on public notice, oppositions to the application most likely will be due on or about May 29, 2023. Because AT&T has filed this application as a non-dominant carrier, it automatically will be deemed granted on the 31st day after the public notice is released unless the FCC delays the grant. The FCC will not delay the effective date of an application unless a party is able to demonstrate that comparable service is not available from AT&T or another communications entity. A challenge also may be possible if the available replacement services do not include the same capabilities of the services to be discontinued.
According to AT and T, Access Channels transmit voice and data traffic between a customer site or Local Exchange Carrier Serving Wire Center and a designated AT&T POP, enabling customer access to applied services such as AT&T VPN Service, Private Line Service, and Toll-Free MEGACOM Service, among others.
Inter-Office Channels enable the transmission of voice and data traffic between AT&T POPs. The T1, T3, OC3, OC12, and OC48 speeds of Access Channels and Inter-Office Channels transmit digital signals at up to 1.54 Mbps, 44.736 Mbps, 155.52 Mbps, 622.08 Mbps, and 2488.32 Mbps, respectively. AT&T Toll-Free MEGACOM Service provides toll-free calling capabilities for calls terminating at customer sites using dedicated access facilities.
AT and T states that it offers numerous replacement services with the same capabilities as Access Channel Services and Inter-Office Channel Services, including Ethernet Access Channel Service, AT and T Switched Ethernet Service, AT&T Dedicated Ethernet Service, EPLS-WAN Service, and AT&T Ultravailable Network Service.
AT and T states that its replacement services for Toll-Free MEGACOM Service include AT and T Toll-Free Readyline Service, IP Flexible Reach Service, and AT and T IP Toll-Free Service. AT and T states that facilities-based providers in non-AT&T Local Exchange areas also offer various replacements for the services.
The FCC’s Public Notice will provide details on how to file an opposition to the application. You will be able to file an opposition electronically via the FCC’s electronic comment filing system.
If you have questions regarding this memorandum or the FCC’s public notice, please contact Ben Dickens at bhd@bloostonlaw.com.
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