Charleston, WV (PRWEB) August 03, 2015
The Public Service Commission of West Virginia entered a Recommended Decision finding that Frontier Communications breached an agreement between Frontier and Citynet that was designed to promote competition in the telecommunications market by refusing to give access to portions of Frontier's fiber network. (Public Service Commission of West Virginia, Case No. 14-1295-T-C).
In the Decision, see Public Service Commission of West Virginia, Case No. 14-1295-T-C, page 34, Judge George recommended that Frontier Communications be required to provide Citynet access to fiber entering several rural communities including Philippi, Buckhannon, and Elkins.
“While the Decision is not final, it is the first step in bringing competition into the rural markets,” said Citynet CEO Jim Martin.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 aimed to open up competition among telecommunications providers by obligating existing carriers to open up their networks to competing carriers at wholesale rates. According to court documents, Frontier had denied several recent requests by Citynet to lease available fiber capability between Clarksburg and Philippi and between Clarksburg and Elkins. As court documents show, these requests were denied without little or no explanation in what Citynet believed was a violation of its interconnect agreement with Frontier.
Ben Bailey, of the law firm Bailey and Glasser, who, along with Rebecca Pomeroy, represents Citynet stated, “We found Chief Judge George’s Decision to be thorough and insightful and have no plan to file an exception to any of his recommended Orders.”
Expanding this “middle-mile” capacity will help Citynet provide more innovative telecommunications services to its customers at a lower cost.
ABOUT “DARK FIBER”
“Dark fiber” is a term for unused fiber-optic lines; which are usually made available for other telecommunication providers to lease and from which then to offer services. Access to dark-fiber allows for increased competition for technology services delivered over it to the communities where it is located.
ABOUT CITYNET
Headquartered in Bridgeport, WV, Citynet is a growing, regional, full-service provider of telecommunications services and business technology solutions. Citynet offers a range of services designed to maximize the return on IT investment and minimize the hassles involved with using and managing technology – allowing businesses to focus on their core operations. Key services include ultra-high-speed bandwidth, business-class phone service and systems, and comprehensive network managed services. Many of these services are offered via Citynet’s wholly-owned fiber network; which is rapidly expanding. Visit http://www.citynet.net or call 1.844.CITYNET.