WorldCom Reacts to OCC Approval of Southwestern Bell Long Distance Bid
OKLAHOMA CITY, September 28, 2000 -- "This decision
fosters a sense of déjà vu. In 1997, Southwestern Bell put forth its
first premature long distance application for Oklahoma, which was
soundly rejected by the FCC. Three years have passed, but Southwestern
Bell has done little to advance the ball on opening its local market
here. So just as Southwestern Bell's application was premature then
-- it's premature now."
"WorldCom is disappointed that the OCC would rush to judgment
and find that Southwestern Bell has already opened its market when the
facts -- and common sense -- clearly show that Bell has yet to remove
all barriers to broad-based competition in Oklahoma. If the OCC were to
poll for residential customers who have local phone choice, the
response would show few if any."
"The FCC has made it clear that intensive OSS testing or actual
commercial competitive experience is crucial in determining whether it
will approve a Bell company's long distance application. Neither
has happened in Oklahoma and questions remain about the sufficiency of
Southwestern Bell's untested OSS and other issues. We will urge the
Justice Department and the FCC to agree that more work needs to be
done. As always, WorldCom looks forward to working through these issues
in FCC and DoJ review."
Background: In a setback for competition and customer choice, the
Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) today put the cart before horse
and endorsed Southwestern Bell's application to provide long
distance service in the state before requiring the company to open its
monopoly local phone market. It is now up to the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) to decide
that Southwestern Bell should not be rewarded with long distance entry
until competitors can offer customers in Oklahoma the same benefits of
local competition that Texans and New Yorkers are enjoying today.
The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires all regional
Bell companies to prove to state regulators, the DoJ and the FCC that
their local phone markets are irreversibly open to competition before
they can win permission to offer long distance services in their former
monopoly territories. Bell companies in only two states have received
FCC long distance authorization so far -- Verizon (formerly Bell
Atlantic) in New York and Southwestern Bell in Texas. WorldCom, looking
at the state of the market in Oklahoma today as well as previous
federal decisions, remains optimistic that the FCC and the Justice
Department will reject the OCC's finding that the Oklahoma local
phone market is open to the competition.
WorldCom has repeatedly asked the OCC to take the lead in ensuring
the local phone market is irreversibly open. Specifically, WorldCom has
called for third-party testing of Bell's Operations Support Systems
(OSS) -- the electronic ordering systems and interfaces vital to
establishing a truly competitive local phone market. Thorough OSS
testing and systems validation proved critical in opening the
residential local phone markets in Texas and New York. In Oklahoma,
there is no evidence -- either through OSS testing or actual commercial
experience - that Southwestern Bell's OSS will support the order
volumes that will be generated in a vibrantly competitive market.
