SBC FILES FOR MO. LONG DISTANCE ENTRY
SBC filed Sec. 271 petition at FCC Wed. seeking approval to enter long distance market in Mo. Bid by SBC unit Southwestern Bell Telephone to provide interLATA long distance service came after Mo. PSC voted 5-0 March 6 to endorse application, finding it in public interest after 2-1/2 year review. “In its final order, the state commission concluded that there could be little doubt that SBC’s entry into Missouri’s long distance market will increase consumer choice for long distance service in the state,” SBC Senior Vp-FCC Priscilla Hill-Ardoin said.
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PSC said last month that SBC had satisfied 14-point Telecom Act checklist and that its long distance entry was in public interest as long as company stuck to its agreement agency and CLECs on interim rates and terms in areas such as colocation and line sharing. SBC said Wed. that performance measurement data in Mo. indicated company had provided “benchmark or parity performance on approximately 90 percent” of measures at least 2 out of last 3 months. That performance level is comparable with that approved by state and federal regulators in Tex., Kan. and Okla., SBC said. SBC has won Sec. 271 authority in all 3 of those states.
CLECs in Mo. have access to same operating support systems, performance measurement plan and essentially same interconnection provisions as FCC approved for use in 3 other states, SBC said. Local competition in Mo. is “at a level comparable to or even higher than that which existed in Texas when we filed our Texas 271 application with the FCC last year even though Texas is a more demographically urban market,” Hill-Ardoin said. SBC began offering long distance in Tex. in July and began service in Kan. and Okla. last month.
To enter long distance market in Mo., SBC has to prove its local market is open to competition and SBC said it is. Company said competitors in Mo. were serving 338,000 business and 92,000 residential lines. There’s competition throughout state, SBC said. Company said it has entered 119 interconnection or resale agreements and 43 competitors are providing facilities-based service.
However, competitor WorldCom painted different picture, with spokeswoman saying her company couldn’t compete in residential market in Mo. because SBC had set prices too high for unbundled network elements. There’s little residential competition because “competitors are barred by discriminatory pricing that’s well above costs,” she said, urging FCC to deny SBC’s application.
FCC responded to application with announcement of statutory deadlines for comments, final action: (1) April 24 for comments, including those from Mo. PSC. (2) May 9, Dept. of Justice evaluation. (3) Replies, May 16. (4) July 3, FCC final action. - - Edie Herman, Mary Greczyn