OMB OK's Special Access Data Collection

The Office of Management and Budget has given the FCC the green light to collect data from ISPs and others on the state of the special access (business broadband services) market.

OMB had to sign off on the additional paperwork per the Paperwork Reduction Act.

With that go-ahead, the FCC said Monday (Aug. 18) it was ready to proceed with the data collection.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association argued that the FCC had majorly lowballed the amount of work and money it will take by thousands of hours and millions of dollars.

The FCC wants to collect data from buyers and sellers of special access service to determine how competitive the marketplace is for the services, which include services carrying voice and data from cell towers to businesses and from ATMs and credit card readers.

To read the full story, including what FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has to say, visit Multichannel.com.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.