AT&T fingers BT's brass neck, wishes it could throttle it

US telco giant AT&T has slammed BT's efforts to get the US Federal Communications Commission regulator to give it access to AT&T's networks – describing the move as "staggering hypocrisy".

The company was responding to the president of BT's US operation, Bas Burger, who complained that the firm has been hampered in its efforts to compete in the US due to the hefty fees it has to pay Verizon and AT&T.

In an article in the Financial Times he said the absence of regulated prices and contracts was limiting BT’s ability to compete with the US telecoms groups, which also offer networking services to businesses.

“For a western world country it is the worst I’ve seen,” he said. “There is not sufficient regulation to create competition: almost all access is being provided by two companies and they have divided the country among themselves."

However, US comms giant AT&T was none too impressed with BT's brass neck.

In a post entitled "The British are Coming (and This Time They Want Pricing Regulation)", AT&T's senior regulation veep Bob Quinn claimed adopting a regulatory regime similar to that of the UK would mean significantly less broadband investment, higher prices and bad customer service.

"And all so BT can get lower prices for services that are already cheaper in the US than the same services the UK," he said.

"BT in its 'staggering' hypocrisy apparently assumes people here are not only ignorant of the real facts, but that we’ll also overlook BT’s own past statements criticising those same UK policies it now says the US should emulate. Good luck with that." ®