AT&T sues Mediacom over 911 interconnection agreement terms

AT&T has filed a lawsuit against Mediacom in Illinois, claiming the cable operator did not pay for 911 network facilities and equipment in the state.

The two service providers have had an interconnection agreement (ICA) in place since 2009.

“We are still reviewing the complaint and have no comment at this time,” a Mediacom spokesman told FierceTelecom in an e-mail.

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An AT&T spokemsan told FierceTelecom in an e-mail it tried to come to an agreement with Mediacom.

“We’ve made extensive efforts over the last couple of years to resolve this issue with Mediacom," the spokesman said. "After no success, we filed a lawsuit to collect money owed."

While cable operators like Mediacom have built out large last mile and core networks to support their voice and data services, these providers still must work with incumbent telcos to get 911 and other voice related connectivity for their customers.

Interconnection disputes in the telecom industry are common. Service providers at times have been at odds over the timing and the amount of payments.

Prior to completing its merger with CenturyLink, Frontier claimed that Level 3 and CenturyLink have either been refusing to pay or delaying payment for wholesale services, for example. The telco has developed agreements with Level 3 and CenturyLink for high-capacity data services, including internet backbone transmission and long-haul services.

This article was updated on Jan. 5 with additional information from AT&T.