FCC delays rule that could raise rural phone rates

The Federal Communications Commission will not vote as scheduled tomorrow on proposed changes that could raise rural telephone rates to pay for greater broadband access, North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan told KCND-FM. The vote "has been pushed back until sometime in December," The Associated Press reports.

The FCC appeared to be responding to congressional and interest-group requests; "37 senators and 79 members of the House of Representatives have now sent letters urging the FCC to slow down, open its plan to the public, and postpone" the vote, according to a press release from groups opposing the plan. They include AARP, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Rural Telecommunications Alliance, the Communications Workers of America, state regulators represented by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the National Governors Association.

For more background, read this report from the Business Technology blog of The Wall Street Journal or our Oct. 15 blog post here.