Federal Communications Commission FCC 08-197
1
STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER JONATHAN S. ADELSTEIN
CONCURRING
Re:  Petitions of OrbitCom, Inc. for Forbearance from CLEC Access Charges, WC Docket No. 
08-162
In today’s decision, the Commission denies a petition seeking forbearance from the 
Commission’s tariff rules for interstate access services.  I agree with the Order's finding that the 
petitioner has fallen far short of meeting the standard for forbearance set by Congress.  I have 
consistently encouraged the Commission to base its decisions on a careful and sound examination of 
specific geographic and product markets, and it is clear that this petition provided no such evidence.  
While the Commission reaches the right result here, this case reinforces the need for procedural 
rules to govern the forbearance process.  The appearance of this item on the public circulate list before 
the Commission sought public comment predictably evoked questions from interested parties and raises 
questions about the Commission’s approach to facially deficient petitions.  Wielding our Section 10 
authority carefully is particularly important given the nature of the forbearance statute and its “deemed 
grant” provision, in particular.1 Congress alone has the power to modify the statute, but we are again 
reminded of the need to develop meaningful procedural rules to govern the forbearance process.  For 
these reasons, I concur in this decision. 
  
1 I share the concerns of the many Members of Congress who have expressed unease about the “deemed grant” 
provision of section 10, which allows private parties to exempt themselves from the law without consideration of the 
very standard for forbearance articulated by Congress.