ALTS Cites Need for Enforcement Against Back-Sliding By SBC.Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 5, 2000 Approval of Petition for Texas Long Distance Shows that 271 Process Works, But SBC's Ability to Meet Key Market Opening Requirements Remains Untested The Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS ALTS Association for Local Telecommunications Services ALTS Aarhus Lawn Tennis Selskab (Denmark) ALTS Annotated Labeled Transition System ALTS Analogue Line Terminating Subsystem ALTS Automatic Laser Tracking System ) today cautioned federal and state regulators to carefully monitor SBC (1) (SBC Communications Inc., San Antonio, TX, www.sbc.com) A large, national telecommunications company that grew from a multitude of local and regional companies, including Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, into a single, unified brand by 2002. in the wake of the FCC's approval of the incumbent's petition to offer long distance service in Texas - and ensure against backsliding back·slide intr.v. back·slid , back·slid·ing, back·slides To revert to sin or wrongdoing, especially in religious practice. back on requirements to open the local market to competition. ALTS is the national organization representing facilities-based competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), the principal companies striving to introduce competitive choices for consumers in Texas and throughout the nation. "Now that SBC has won long distance approval, the eyes of Texas - and federal - regulators must be acutely focused upon the incumbent to guard against any infractions of market-opening rules," said John D. Windhausen, Jr., ALTS President. "SBC's ability to meet many requirements has not been fully tested, so enforcement must be strict and vigilant." ALTS cited two key areas of concern for regulators: - Project Pronto pron·to adv. Informal Without delay; quickly. [Spanish, from Latin pr  mptus; see prompt. : The FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. and the Texas Public Utility Commission must ensure that SBC's roll-out of Project Pronto abides by the non-discriminatory principles of the Telecommunications Act, and permits the introduction of competitive local voice and data services. - Advanced Competitive Services: SBC must meet its obligation to provide line-sharing and non-discriminatory access to sub-loop elements, which are critical to the provisioning of advanced competitive services. SBC's ability to meet these requirements has not been fully tested. "Bell Atlantic and now SBC have demonstrated what it takes to gain in-region long distance authority," said Jonathan Askin, ALTS General Counsel. "But regulators must be mindful of what happened in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of immediately after Bell Atlantic received 271 permission. The incumbent failed to satisfy its continuing obligations to open the local market. The FCC and the NY PSC (Public Service Commission) Same as PUC. have been forced to carefully monitor Bell Atlantic compliance ever since. This same scenario could happen all over again with SBC in Texas. The FCC must make certain that penalties are swift, certain, and severe enough to deter SBC from backsliding." ALTS is the leading national industry association whose mission is to promote facilities-based local telecommunications competition. Created in 1987, ALTS has offices in Washington, D.C. and Irvine, California and now represents more than 200 companies that build, own, and operate competitive local networks. For more information on ALTS, contact Crawford Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most at 703/318-5460 or visit www.alts.org. |
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