Why the FCC slashed reporting requirements for carriers

of the rules for either the big telcos or their competitors in the wireless and VoIP industries.

What have consumer protection groups had to say about this?

Chris Murray, senior counsel at Consumers Union, has publicly taken a stance in line with Adelstein and Copps, and has said that the data provided to the FCC is an important component of customers' decision-making process.

"There's no way for consumers or regulators to know whether network quality is declining except for data like these," he told the Wall Street Journal last week. "They're saying throw out the rules and figure out if we can fill in the gaps with something else later."

The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates also opposed easing the rules on the telcos and filed a petition with the FCC stating that it would be inappropriate for the commission to grant relief from the reporting rules to companies such as Qwest and Verizon when the relief granted to AT&T earlier this year is still under appeal. In explaining his group's filing, NASUCA telecommunications head David Bergmann told the Washington Post that he was worried that "standards almost inevitably get lower" every time the FCC eliminates reporting requirements.