Says Only Competition Will Prompt High-Tech Investment,
Consumer Benefits
NEWARK, NJ, February 25, 1999 --
MCI WorldCom asked New Jersey regulators today to break down the
barriers to full and effective local phone competition in New Jersey by
tightening regulation of Bell Atlantic until it opens its monopoly to
new entrants. Since 1993, Bell Atlantic has operated under a so-called
"alternative regulation plan" that, despite the Board of
Public Utilities' (BPU) intent, has resulted in an incentive for
Bell Atlantic to maintain its local phone monopoly. MCI WorldCom is
opposing Bell Atlantic's request to extend that plan, which expires
December 31, 1999.
Under its "Opportunity New Jersey" alternative regulation
plan, Bell Atlantic agreed to cap its local phone rates and invest in
upgrades that would give New Jersey residents a state-of-the-art
telecommunications network. However, Bell Atlantic's cost of doing
business in New Jersey has steadily declined, resulting in a cash
windfall for the phone company instead of the rate reduction and
advanced network that consumers should have seen.
"The promise of Opportunity New Jersey was to bring value and
an advanced network to New Jersey customers. Bell Atlantic has done
neither," said Carl Giesy, MCI WorldCom Director of Public Policy.
"Local phone competition is New Jersey residents' only
opportunity for savings and innovation. Competition will bring
consumers the state-of-the art network and lower prices they crave and
that six years of Opportunity New Jersey has failed to
deliver."
In a filing today, MCI WorldCom asked the BPU to end the six-year
deal between Bell Atlantic and New Jersey ratepayers unless Bell
Atlantic opens its local market to full and effective competition.
Although Bell Atlantic vowed to provide customers with savings and
innovation through price caps, it has benefited from the continuously
decreasing cost of doing business in New Jersey and has failed to
invest those profits in its network. Worse still, Bell Atlantic has
sent hundreds of millions of dollars in New Jersey revenues to its
parent company in New York over the last six years.
"There's no reason Bell Atlantic should be allowed to keep
New Jersey consumers on hold while their neighbors in New York are
already seeing the benefits of competition," Giesy said. "New
York regulators have taken strong steps to make Bell Atlantic open its
local markets to competition. As a result, MCI WorldCom is offering
local residential and business phone services there. We're asking
the BPU to bring those same benefits to New Jersey customers."
MCI WorldCom is a global communications company with revenue of more
than $30 billion and established operations in over 65 countries
encompassing the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. MCI
WorldCom is a premier provider of facilities-based and fully integrated
local, long distance, international and Internet services. MCI
WorldCom's global networks, including its state-of-the-art
pan-European network and transoceanic cable systems, provide end-to-end
high-capacity connectivity to more than 38,000 buildings worldwide. MCI
WorldCom is traded on NASDAQ under WCOM. For more information on MCI
WorldCom, visit the World Wide Web at http://www.wcom.com.
# # #
For a copy of the filing, please contact Elena French at
914-312-6144 or
Elena.French@mci.com
.
