Research Triangle Park, North Carolina – (The Hosting News) – June 1, 2007 – Web host, Internet and telecommunications services company, XO Communications, has applauded the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration for requesting that the FCC conduct economic studies and issue a public review concerning the retirement of the nation’s copper network infrastructure by incumbent telephone companies.

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Kevin Martin, the SBA Advocacy warned that ”immediate copper retirement will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses,” calling for economic analysis that ”may show that allowing companies to continue to develop and utilize the copper network will further the Administration’s broadband policy goals.”

In addition, the letter continued, ”In the U.S. telecommunications sector, small businesses have become increasingly dynamic by developing new technologies based on the legacy copper network. Small telecommunications providers have been able to offer competitive packages to consumers, rivaling the cable platforms in their regions. These and similar offerings have created a wide range of telecom choices for small business customers. The retirement of copper will eliminate these technologies, and any new copper-based technologies currently under development. Small business consumers of telecom services fear that their telecom services will become more expensive.”

Heather Burnett Gold, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at XO Communications remarked, ”This letter speaks right to heart of the matter on this issue and sends a clear message that the nation’s copper networks are vital to broadband deployment in this country and should be maintained. At a time when the U.S. continues to fall behind the rest of the world in broadband deployment and growth, the FCC is allowing the Baby Bells to remove a national asset that is being used to deliver faster and faster broadband services to millions of consumers and small businesses. We call on the FCC to follow the requests of the SBA Advocacy in the interests of the millions of small businesses and consumers that depend on copper.”

XO Communications, a subsidiary of XO Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: XOHO.OB), is a provider of national and local telecommunications services to businesses, large enterprises and communications service providers. XO offers a broad portfolio of services, including local and long distance voice, dedicated Internet access, private networking, data transport, and web hosting services, as well as bundled voice and Internet solutions. XO provides these services over an advanced, nationwide facilities-based IP network and serves 75 metropolitan markets across the United States.

To learn more about XO Communications, please visit: www.xo.com.

Be Sociable, Share!

•