Vito Fossella: “I want to take a minute to discuss an issue that is very important to many men and women in my district and to the men…”

“I want to take a minute to discuss an issue that is very important to many men and women in my district and to the men and women working in the telecommunications industry. The FCC is preparing for a release of their Triennial Review of the UNE-P and I want to weigh in with my colleagues as to the fundamentals of how the UNE-P pricing model works, or as I see it, doesn't work. Suppose you, an entrepreneur, go in to manufacture candy bars and you invest significant capital to create this wonderful factory and generate candy bars. You operate for 30 years, during which you must buy new equipment, and maintain that equipment. The bottom line of your costs is say, $.75. You determine to sell them in the retail market for $1. Then you discover that there is a regulatory body empowered by the Congress that regulates candy bars and one of their missions is to promote competition. One day, these regulators come to you and they say, ``You know what? We think since you're the largest candy bar manufacturer, you should have a competitor. And we have someone that we want to be your competitor.'' Then the regulators tell you one way in which they've determined to promote competition is for you to allow this competitor to sell your product from your machinery and buildings at $0.75 or in some cases less than $0.75, so they in turn can resell it in the market for a profit to them, and a loss to your company.”