Competitive Carriers Ask Florida PSC for a Fair, Open Local
Phone Market
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. September 18, 2000 - A coalition of seven
large and small competitive local phone companies is calling on the
Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) this week to seize the
opportunity to finally open BellSouth's monopoly local phone market
to competition and customer choice. Competitors, including AT&T,
BTI, Intermedia Communications, Mpower Communications, Network
Telephone, NewSouth Communications and WorldCom, are urging the PSC to
adopt fair economic conditions that will allow them to offer widespread
business and residential service to compete with the BellSouth
monopoly.
Tomorrow, the PSC begins a weeklong hearing that will help determine
the potential for widespread competition in Florida's local phone
market. Specifically, the PSC will be reconsidering the exorbitant
wholesale rates competitors must currently pay BellSouth to lease
critical pieces of the existing public phone network to provide
customers with an alternative to their local phone monopoly.
Despite Congress' clear intention under the federal
Telecommunications Act of 1996 to eliminate barriers to competition and
to allow competing carriers fair access to the facilities of incumbent
Bell operating companies, BellSouth has consistently requested
wholesale rates that preclude other companies from entering the
market.
"It is imperative to create competition by making available the
monopoly's infrastructure based on the true costs for BellSouth to
build and maintain the network," said Tony Copeland, executive
vice president and general counsel for BTI.
Not surprisingly, the wholesale rates BellSouth recently proposed
are again too high. These rates would prolong BellSouth's monopoly
in a large part of the state. Competitors are asking the Commission to
adopt reasonable rates, which would allow many companies to expand
their offerings to residential and business customers on a widespread
basis and for the first time go head to head with BellSouth.
"Florida is at a crossroads, and the PSC will use the
information it gathers this week to determine whether or not Florida
consumers in BellSouth territory will ever enjoy the full benefits of
local phone competition," said C.K. "Chip" Casteel Jr.,
WorldCom vice president of law and public policy. "WorldCom is
already serving hundreds of thousands of residential customers for
local phone service in New York, Texas and Pennsylvania and is ready to
enter Florida if the PSC forces BellSouth to open its market with
reasonable wholesale rates."
For competition to take root and prosper in Florida's local
phone market, new entrants must be able to lease pieces of the
BellSouth-controlled public phone network at reasonable wholesale
rates, as federal law requires. The current rates, which were set years
ago, are too high and protect BellSouth's monopoly stranglehold on
the market.
"Florida's current wholesale rates will never allow the
kind of vibrant competition the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996
envisioned," said John Kerkorian, regional vice president of legal
and regulatory affairs for Mpower Communications. "We want to
provide more choices to Florida consumers at lower prices.
Unfortunately, we can't today because BellSouth has priced its
wholesale network elements above their costs. Unless these prices are
lowered substantially, the BellSouth monopoly will win, and Florida
consumers will lose."
The outcome of this week's hearings will impact the ability of
the full range of competitive local phone and data providers to
effectively serve business and residential customers alike.
"As the nation's largest independent competitive local
exchange carrier (CLEC), we are directly impacted by BellSouth's
monopolistic tactics," said Heather Gold, Intermedia
Communications' vice president of industry policy. "Until
BellSouth is forced to offer fair wholesale pricing, the people and
businesses of Florida will have limited choices for their
communications needs."
"Keeping competitor costs prohibitively high also prevents
competitors from fully leveraging new technologies to bring customers
innovative services that BellSouth doesn't even offer," said
Brent McMahan, vice president-regulatory and governmental affairs for
Network Telephone. "For example, Network Telephone links critical
pieces of the existing network to our own cutting edge technologies to
offer products such as voice over DSL. But if the cost of entering the
market was lower, customers across Florida would have more providers to
choose from."
The competitive carriers are asking the PSC to support a competitive
local phone market and stand against BellSouth's pleas to protect
its monopoly grip that it has held for decades.
"We fully expect the Florida PSC will make the right decision
for Florida consumers," said Claudia Davant-DeLoach, AT&T
president of legislative and regulatory affairs for Florida. "The
only way that true and fair competition can be guaranteed for Florida
telephone consumers is when the intent of the 1996 Telecom Act is
honored as it is written."
"NewSouth Communications plays by the rules of the federal
Telecommunications Act of 1996. BellSouth does not," said Lori
Reese, NewSouth Communications director of governmental affairs.
"We need the strength and swiftness of the Commission to make
BellSouth accountable."
The unique situation of competitive carriers working together as a
single voice represents the importance this issue holds in opening the
local phone market to widespread competition.
