Court says no rebate for SBC

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit yesterday upheld a 2002 FCC ruling that SBC Communications should pay $6 million for violating the terms of its 1999 merger with Ameritech by failing to provide "shared transport" service in five Midwest states.

SBC paid the fine in April 2003 but was seeking a refund in the case. Although the company has not made an official determination, most sources doubt the RBOC will pursue an appeal of the case to the Supreme Court.

"This decision doesn’t break any new ground or set any precedents," Paul Mancini, SBC’s assistant general counsel said in a prepared statement. "It’s nothing more than a snapshot in time of where the industry was several years ago. We've already paid the money. We appealed and lost. Life goes on."