Court: Phone company can't block Qwest

Court: Phone company can't block Qwest

	Published : Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:35 By : Agencies Print this Story

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - State telephone service regulators were correct in barring a small eastern Iowa telephone cooperative from blocking incoming calls from cell phones, the Iowa Supreme Court said Friday.

In its decision, the court upheld a 2004 ruling by the Iowa Utilities Board in a dispute between the 1,600-member East Buchanan Telephone Cooperative and Qwest Corp.

The board, which regulates telephone companies operating in the state, ruled in December 2004 that East Buchanan could not block cell phone calls coming from U.S. Cellular customers through Qwest.

The cooperative, which serves the eastern Iowa communities of Winthrop, Quasqueton, Aurora and Stanley, had threatened to block the calls because Qwest refused to pay access charges for completion of the calls.

East Buchanan lost about $500,000 over five years from cell phone calls directed through its equipment by Qwest without payment, the cooperative said. The co-op is reimbursed for calls routed through its system that originate from wired phones.

The co-op tried billing Qwest for the wireless calls, but Qwest said it wasn't required to pay.

Since the cellular companies already pay Qwest for calls, they have no incentive to negotiate deals directly to pay the local companies.

The utilities board said blocking the calls was illegal under Iowa law, but acknowledged that the cooperative was entitled to payment and recommended that East Buchanan negotiate a payment agreement directly with wireless carriers such as U.S. Cellular.

Polk County District Court Judge Scott Rosenberg upheld the utility board's decision. East Buchanan appealed the ruling, saying the board had no authority to issue an injunction to bar the company from blocking calls and that there was no factual basis for the action because there was no immediate danger to the public.

The Supreme Court found that the board does not have the authority to issue injunctions, which is something a court must decide.

However the court ruled that the utilities board has authority to order the cooperative to refrain from blocking the disputed calls.

Des Moines attorney Thomas Fisher Jr., who represented the cooperative, said a decision has not been made about the cooperative's next step.

The attorney for the utilities board did not immediately return a call seeking comment.