Telecom firm Great Lakes Comnet Inc., which connects telecom giants like Verizon to customers in rural Michigan through a 6,500 mile-long fiber network, filed for bankruptcy protection as it battles AT&T Corp. over illegally charged fees, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Officials who put Great Lakes Comnet into chapter 11 protection on Monday accused AT&T officials of withholding more than $24 million in payments for service although the Federal Communication Commission has yet to determine how much Great Lakes Comnet owes in the dispute. AT&T filed a complaint against Great Lakes Comnet in October 2014, saying it charged higher fees than were allowed by a regulatory benchmark for interstate access services. The FCC, which ruled in AT&T's favor in March 2015, has yet to calculate damages. AT&T officials, however, have stopped paying the full billed amount for the services it receives from Great Lakes Comnet, Chief Executive John Summersett said in court papers.
