Beginning of BellSouth Long Distance Hearings Focuses on Competition in Florida and Customer Benefits.Business Editors/Technology Writers TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2001 BellSouth tells PSC (Public Service Commission) Same as PUC. that consumers would save millions if long distance market were opened The first day of hearings before the Florida Public Service Commission Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) is an independent regulatory agency serving the public of Florida by managing its public utilities such as telecommunications, electricity, natural gas, water, and wastewater. (FPSC FPSC Florida Public Service Commission FPSC Financial Planners Standards Council (Canada) FPSC Field Programmable System Chip (Lucent Technologies) FPSC Fundación Promoción Social de la Cultura ) to allow BellSouth into Florida's long distance market was highlighted by opening statements that focused on the competitive nature of the state's telecommunications market. "ALECs (competitive local carriers) in Florida have captured more than 25% of the business market," said BellSouth/Florida General Attorney Nancy White. "Florida competitors have more than 600,000 facility-based lines, 200,000 resale lines and are serving more than 11% of the telephone customers in the state." Even though representatives of competitive local carriers told the PSC that consumer benefits should not be a factor in their decision, BellSouth emphasized that consumers in Florida would save millions if it were allowed to offer long distance. Attorney's referred to testimony about how consumers experienced cost savings due to new programs and reduced rates in Texas and 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 , after 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. and Verizon were allowed to offer long distance. "We would like the Commission to focus on the big picture and that is that competition in Florida's telecommunications industry is one of the strongest in the nation and that if they approve our request, their actions will have a positive effect in the wallets of every one of our customers," said BellSouth-President Joe Lacher. "The evidence on those two points is very convincing because it comes from the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. (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 irrefutable irrefutable - The opposite of refutable. case studies of consumer savings in states that have experienced long distance relief." A host of competitive carriers, including AT&T and WorldCom, are attempting to dispute BellSouth's claims. "This level of opposition was expected," said Lacher. "The major long distance companies want to protect the 87% market share they have in the state. Additionally, major long distance companies have never supported any company's entry into the long distance market anywhere in the country. PSC approval would send the appropriate signal that Florida is ready for BellSouth to compete in the long distance market and at the same time provide consumer savings that have determined to be as much as a billion dollars." About BellSouth Corporation BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications services company headquartered in Atlanta, GA, serving more than 45 million customers in the United States and 16 other countries. Consistently recognized for customer satisfaction, BellSouth provides a full array of broadband data and e-commerce solutions to business customers, including Web hosting and other Internet services. In the residential market, BellSouth offers DSL DSL in full Digital Subscriber Line Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary high-speed Internet access, advanced voice features and other services. BellSouth also provides online and directory advertising services, including BellSouth(R) RealPages(SM).com. BellSouth owns 40 percent of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second largest wireless company, which provides innovative wireless data and voice services. |
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