Discount Communications, Inc., v. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.

Discount Communications, Inc. purchases telephone services from BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. and resells the services at an increased rate to Discount's own residential and commercial customers. Some of Discount's customers qualify for a Federal Communication Commission program called Lifeline, which provides telephone services at a reduced rate through federal and state subsidies. BellSouth and Discount got into a dispute about whether their agreement required BellSouth (1) to provide directory assistance to Discount's customers and (2) to pass the $3.50 per month state subsidy through to Discount. The Tennessee Regulatory Authority decided that the agreement required BellSouth to provide directory assistance at no charge to Discount's customers and that BellSouth was not required to forward the $3.50 monthly charge to Discount. We affirm.