BellSouth Calls Consumer Group Statements On the Status of Local Competition in Florida ``Uninformed and Against the Consumers Best Interest''.Business Editors MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2001 BellSouth said today that statements made by several consumer groups in a letter to 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 ) show they are totally uniformed and biased. "These statements are blatantly false and appear to be a last ditch effort to keep BellSouth out of Florida's long distance market," said BellSouth spokesman Spero Canton. "None of these consumer agencies has contacted BellSouth in an effort to learn what we are doing to open our markets to competition. Nothing was mentioned about the billions of dollars BellSouth has invested in an ongoing commitment to serve its wholesale customers. Their statements are biased and the effort is lead by an AT&T consultant, one of our chief opponents in the Florida long distance effort." BellSouth has documentation that Consumer Federation of America The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, education and advocacy. According to CFA's website, its members are approximately 300 consumer-oriented non-profits, which themselves have Director of Research; Dr. Mark Cooper This article is about the English football player and coach. For the 19th Century United States Congressman from the state of Georgia, see Mark Anthony Cooper. Mark Cooper has worked for AT&T as a consultant. "To say that `BellSouth has a stranglehold stran·gle·hold n. 1. Sports An illegal wrestling hold used to choke an opponent. 2. A force, influence, or action that restricts or suppresses freedom or progress. Also called throttlehold. on local phone service in Florida' is absurd. There is competition in every one of BellSouth's 101 Florida calling areas, there are more than 1 million competitive lines in the state and the number of unbundled network element Unbundled Network Elements (UNE) are a requirement mandated by the United States Telecommunications Act of 1996. They are the parts of the telecommunications network that the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) are required to offer on an unbundled basis. (UNE) trunk lines and facilities based lines have increased close to 1000% in the past three years. The high level of competition in Florida has also been confirmed by a recent Federal Communication Commission report. The facts and figures totally discredit TO DISCREDIT, practice, evidence. To deprive one of credit or confidence. 2. In general, a party may discredit a witness called by the opposite party, who testifies against him, by proving that his character is such as not to entitle him to credit or their statements and biased position," said Canton. In response to the steps the group urged the FPSC to take, Canton says that the Commission has been very proactive in their response to the needs of competitive local carriers and has already addressed the issues. -- BellSouth does not establish its own UNE prices. There were detailed regulatory proceedings that occurred with each side presenting their own cost models. After thoughtful consideration, the Commission set rates at a level that supports competitive entry. -- The third party testing on BellSouth's Operating Support Systems (OSS) in Florida follows one of the most stringent criteria in the country. These criteria were developed with full and public input by the competitive local carriers. BellSouth's OSS testing will be completed in December of 2001. -- Business practices safeguards are in place. The FPSC has already established rules and a system of checks and balances called performance measurements to ensure that BellSouth continues to provide quality service to competitive carriers. "I'm surprised that the group didn't do more homework. If they did they would have realized that all the steps they asked the FPSC to establish have already been addressed. Contrary to the biased comments, this is not a `steamroll' type of effort. BellSouth has spent three years since its last filing to make sure all systems were in compliance. BellSouth has thoughtfully followed all the rules set forth by the FPSC and 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. ," said Canton. Following the 4 days of hearings in October the FPSC plans to make a decision on BellSouth's long distance filing, in December. "With as much as $1.6 billion in benefits each year to BellSouth's customers in Florida, as soon as we enter the state's long distance market, it is intriguing in·trigue n. 1. a. A secret or underhand scheme; a plot. b. The practice of or involvement in such schemes. 2. A clandestine love affair. v. that so called consumer groups would take an anti-consumer stand," said Canton. |
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