Cable & Wireless USA Submits Comments to Petitions for Reconsideration Filed With the FCC On Slamming.

VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 1999--

Carriers and Consumers

Adversely Affected by Slamming Liability Rules

Cable & Wireless USA, a leading provider of integrated Internet, voice, data, and messaging solutions, today filed Comments to Petitions for Clarification and/or Reconsideration in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) docket addressing slamming -- the practice of changing a consumer's long distance provider without consent.

In these Comments, Cable & Wireless USA supported carriers that petitioned to have the FCC's absolution and carrier remedy rules changed.

In December, the FCC finalized a rule that mandated that carriers accused of slamming provide up to 30 days of free service to persons alleging a slamming violation. Also, the rule mandated that competing carriers establish adjudicatory mechanisms among themselves to resolve consumer's slamming complaints.

In the Comments filed today, Cable & Wireless USA argued the rules absolving consumers of the first 30 days of charges based solely on a slamming complaint is unfair to carriers and will result in widespread fraud.

In addition, the rules mandating carrier-to-carrier resolution of these complaints, according to Cable & Wireless USA, are administratively inoperable and would place unnecessary burdens on the carriers that do not engage in slamming.

"To say these slamming liability rules would create rampant fraud and would be an administrative nightmare to implement is a considerable understatement," said Rachel J. Rothstein, Cable & Wireless USA's vice president of Regulatory and Government Affairs.

"The FCC should recognize that slamming liability rules, while well-intentioned, will actually increase the number of slamming complaints and related costs to carriers. Consumers, as well as carriers, are being adversely affected by the slamming liability rules, since additional administrative costs will eventually be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher rates," added Rothstein.

Earlier this year, Cable & Wireless USA submitted Comments in the same docket requesting that the FCC permit consumers to submit Letters of Agency (LOA) to select their telecommunications carrier over the Internet. Internet LOAs afford consumers the freedom to subscribe to their selected telecom provider, and make more informed choices for their communications services.

In April, Cable & Wireless USA announced that the company is investing $670 million over the next 24 months to build a new next generation, high capacity (OC-192) Internet network in the United States.