September 09, 1999, Background: Senate Minority Leader Tom
Daschle (D., S.D.) today hosted a Summit on Rural Telecommunications to
discuss issues relating to the deployment of advanced
telecommunications services such as "digital subscriber loop"
in rural areas. Attendees included telecom industry CEOs, members of
Congress, and FCC commissioners.
The following statement should be attributed to Bernard J. Ebbers,
MCI WorldCom Chief Executive Officer:
"MCI WorldCom is committed to serving the needs of rural
America. In order to provide high-speed DSL services in rural areas,
however, we need to be able to lease the necessary equipment from the
incumbent local exchange carriers, as required by the
Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Competitors must be able to lease a full complement of unbundled
network elements, including those needed to provide DSL, so we can use
those elements to provide a broad range of local services and
high-speed Internet access. Without these network elements, and the
ability to use them in combination, competition in rural areas will be
impaired."
