Last week we noted that the FCC was expected to give a major gift to AT&T, by no longer requiring the carrier provide data on network reliability, customer satisfaction and infrastructure investment. Instead, over the weekend the FCC gave that gift to all five of the nation's largest telcos (AT&T, Verizon, Qwest, Frontier and Embarq), with a few exceptions. In order to get approval for the move from FCC Democrats, FCC boss Kevin Martin had to promise they'd continue to require reliability and satisfaction data for two years. From the order:Of course the FCC isn't speedy when it comes to consumer protection, so the likely end-game of this decision involves these reporting requirements disappearing permanently. Consumer advocates, local regulators and small carriers have argued that the data is valuable, but AT&T lobbyists insisted that providing the data was too expensive. As usual, Democrat Michael Copps complains about the order, right before approving it:While Republican FCC Commissioner and former telecom lobbyist Robert McDowell pretends that if something benefits AT&T lobbyists, it must also magically benefit consumers:Of course everyone but the baby bells is arguing that this "regulatory underbrush" was providing data that would, were the FCC to actually make decisions based on data and not party or corporate loyalty, prove useful. Now an FCC that took nearly a decade to realize they should map broadband coverage faces a two year deadline to either craft strong new reporting guidelines that cover the broadband networks for all carriers, or allow the rules to lapse completely due to bureaucratic dysfunction and incumbent loyalty. All bets on the table.