The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officially questioned AT&T on Friday over the company's threat to pause its fiber network build-out, CNET reports.
The FCC sought more information from the telecom company regarding the technology it will be using for the fiber build-out, as well as its former and current plans and the extent of the network it plans to build.
In a letter addresed to Robert Quinn, Jr., Senior VP of Federal Regulatory & Chief Privacy Officer of AT&T, the FCC referred to the statement made by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson that the company would be pausing its plans to build an internet fiber network until the FFC clarifies rules regarding net neutrality.
The FCC then requested information from the telecom company regarding the following: "The current number of households to which fiber is deployed and the breakdown by technology (i.e., FTTP or FTTN) and geographic area of deployment; (2) the total number of households to which the Company planned to deploy fiber prior to the Company's decision to limit deployment to the 2 million households and the breakdown by technology and geographic area of deployment; and (3) the total number of households to which the Company currently plans to deploy fiber, including the 2 million households, and the breakdown by technology and geographic area of deployment."
The FCC's letter was signed by Jamilla Ferris, who happens to be the person overseeing "a significant portion of the FCC's review of the proposed $48.5 billion acquisition by AT&T of DirecTV," according to Tech Times.
"We can't go out and just invest that kind of money deploying fiber to 100 cities other than these two million not knowing under what rules that investment will be governed," said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson during an investor's meeting last week.
AT&T has also issued a response to the FCC's requests for information, saying, "We are happy to respond to the questions posed by the F.C.C. in its review of our merger with DirecTV. As we made clear earlier this week, we remain committed to our DirecTV merger-related build out plans."
