Lack of Networks Leaves L.A. Low in Telecom Ranks.

Los Angeles is a communications center, right? Well, it depends on what you mean by "communications" and "center."

If you're talking about the production and dissemination of filmed entertainment, L.A. is the undisputed capital of the world. However, when it comes to telecommunications -- using the telephone and computers to reach out and message someone -- L.A. is only one among many more or less equals.

It's just another network node, along with Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Boston and Denver.

Of course, there's a fundamental problem with the notion of "center" when it comes to networks. One network's center is another network's edge. Nevertheless, the computer industry-rich areas of Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose are rapidly on their way to assuming leadership positions in the emerging telecom landscape, leaving Los Angeles as a smaller West Coast player in that environment.

CompTel, a recent trade exposition held by the phone industry in San Francisco, brought home just how L.A. has been relegated to the minor leagues before the game has even started.

Of 75 exhibiting companies, only three were from the L.A. area -- Edison Carrier Solutions, OAN Services Inc., and Telephony Experts Inc., none of them major players.

Geez, even the local exchange carriers that serve us -- Verizon Communications and Pacific Bell -- have their headquarters someplace else.

One manifestation of the problem is that Los Angeles has been slow to network the city. It may not sound like a big deal, but for a town that is dependent on communication, where image is defined by the entertainment industry, the failure to develop a robust network infrastructure is problematic to say the least, if not downright tragic.

For example, there are frequent complaints that too much film production is moving to places like Vancouver. Well, maybe one reason is that MetroNet, a communications company there, built a fiber network just for Vancouver production companies.

Meanwhile, in London, the Hollywood of Europe, some post-production work that might have been done in California a decade ago has migrated over the pond to that city. It's no surprise then that London post-production houses often work together on the same project, linked by SohoNet.

Too bad for us that there hasn't been a practical visionary in Los Angeles like Burbank's Fred Fletcher. He's assistant general manager for the Burbank public services department. Thanks to his forward-looking activities, the city leases unused (or "dark') fiber capacity to companies that need it.

"We put in fiber in 1992. We didn't know what we would do with it back then, but we wanted to do something that would be a help to the entertainment industry," Fletcher said. "And as I looked at that industry, I could see there would be a need for very, very high-speed fiber."

Now that's public service.

Fletcher then went to the Burbank City Council and pushed to extend the network by hooking up with Glendale and Pasadena, cities that are also putting in fiber networks.

And Los Angeles? The city has miles of dark fiber mainly controlled by the Department of Water and Power. So far, it has only scratched the surface of developing a high-speed communications infrastructure for the city.

Unless the city develops a public policy that encourages the development of such infrastructure, we could find ourselves losing out as a center of any kind of industry. The city needs to shore up its "Digital Coast" initiatives with greater attention to its fiber highways. The New Economy demands them for its very life.

The three L.A. companies that did make an appearance at CompTel were:

* Edison Carrier Solutions, a business unit of Southern California Edison, is based in Rosemead. It's a carrier's carrier providing wholesale capacity to Internet service providers, application service providers and cable operators.

It offers private line, transport services, dark fiber, facilities and network construction.

According to ECS, telecommunications firms are expected to grow 8 percent per year for the next four years. As that happens, ECS intends to capitalize on the expertise of its parent company in field construction and planning, as well as its 1,600 miles of high-capacity fiber-optic cable here, in Southern California.

* OAN Services is located in Northridge. It provides billing systems and a collection clearinghouse. The company operates service bureaus that handles customer inquiries and finances accounts receivables for both incumbent local carriers and competitive telephone companies.

* Telephony Experts is a Dataflex company with offices on the Westside. It provides software and hardware that telephone companies use in their facilities to switch phone calls and handle billing services.

The company's sales manager Shelton Glean says it's located in L.A. in part because it's a location that allows the company to address Asian markets.

Contributing columnist Joan Van Tassel has covered technology since 1990. Her book, "Digital TV Over Broadband: Harvesting Bandwidth," will be published in December by Focal Press.