Continental Cablevision seeks permission to offer local telephone service in California; company to invest $700 million in California's telecommunications infrastructure.EL SEGUNDO El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 31, 1995--Continental Cablevision Inc., the nation's third largest cable television operator and the largest cable operator in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , Thursday announced it has filed a petition with the California Public Utilities Commission The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC; also often commonly referred to as simply the PUC) [1] is a state Public Utilities Commission which regulates privately-owned utilities in the state of California, including electric power, requesting permission to offer local telephone service in 10 California counties. If the petition is approved, Continental will invest at least $700 million in the state, converting its existing cable television systems into broadband telecommunications networks capable of providing switched voice, video and data services. The expanded construction and operational activities will result in the creation of 500 jobs statewide. Continental will provide countywide telephone service by supplementing its existing cable television networks with space leased from other network providers, becoming both a facilities-based provider and a reseller of telecommunications services. The company will offer telephone service through a separate subsidiary, Continental Telecommunications of California Inc. Continental will provide a number of residential and commercial intra-LATA services, including dial tone, lifeline and PBX (Private Branch eXchange) An inhouse telephone switching system that interconnects telephone extensions to each other as well as to the outside telephone network (PSTN). trunks; local exchange usage services; optional and supplemental features; Centrex services; and switched long distance carrier access services. The company's proposed telephone service areas include the counties of Fresno, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Orange, Riverside, San Joaquin San Joaquin (săn wäkēn`), river, c.320 mi (510 km) long, rising in the Sierra Nevada, E Calif., and flowing W then N through the S Central Valley to form a large delta with the Sacramento River near Suisun Bay, an arm of San Francisco Bay. , Sutter, Tulare and Yuba. The counties, which consist of both rural and urban communities, are home to Continental's largest cable operations in the state and have a combined population of 14 million residents. ``At a time when business is leaving California, Continental Cablevision is renewing its commitment to the state with this significant investment in infrastructure and jobs,'' said James H. (Trey) Smith, III, Continental's senior vice president. ``Continental has the experience, technology and operational systems in place to successfully compete against the entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. telephone companies, offering our customers a choice in telecommmunications service providers.'' Continental will enhance its existing 14,300 miles of fiber optic and coaxial cable plant with a telecommunications system designed to route switched voice, video and data signals at a performance level that exceeds BellCore standards. The company will use Synchronous Optical Network (networking) Synchronous Optical NETwork - (SONET) A broadband networking standard based on point-to-point optical fibre networks. SONET will provide a high-bandwidth "pipe" to support ATM-based services. (SONET) digital transmission technology with broadband optical transmission equipment in a dual ring architecture to achieve the reliability and capacity needed to provide advanced voice, video and data services. In addition to providing telephony services, the 750 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. network will be capable of offering advanced digital video services. Thursday's filing is a result of the CPUC's interim local telephone rules approved on July 24. The rules permit facilities- based competition starting Jan. 1, 1996, and resale competition beginning March 1, 1996. ``The CPUC CPUC California Public Utilities Commission CPUC Current Procurement Unit Cost interim rules provide a regulatory framework sound enough for us to undertake the work necessary to become a competitive telephone services provider,'' said Jeremy Stern, Continental's vice president of corporate and legal affairs. ``However, there are a number of key regulatory issues left to be determined, including interconnection and unbundling A regulatory requirement that enables a competing service provider to purchase parts of the incumbent local exchange carrier's network in order to provide service to its customers. See ILEC. standards, universal service and number portability. These issues will need to be successfully resolved to ensure the viability of the business and to fully realize the promise of competition.'' Continental Cablevision is a Boston-based telecommunications company with interests in domestic and international cable television operations, cable programming networks and consumer satellite delivery systems. The company is a partner in Teleport Communications Group Teleport Communications Group (TCG) was the first Competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) in the U.S. First formed in 1985, it competed with the existing telephone companies to provide dial tone and related services in the largest U.S. markets. , a leading telecommunications service provider A Telecommunications Service Provider or TSP is a type of Communications Service Provider that has traditionally provided telephone and similar services. This category includes ILECs, CLECs, and mobile wireless companies. . Pending the acquisition of the Providence Journal Co.'s cable properties, the company will own cable television operations in 20 states passing 6.6 million homes and serving 4 million customers. In California, Continental will be the state's second largest cable operator with networks passing 2 million homes and serving 900,000 customers. CONTACT: Continental Cablevision Inc., El Segundo Susan Ritchie, 310/647-5715 |
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