Bell Atlantic close to entering long-distance market in NYC

By KALPANA SRINIVASAN

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON --- Federal regulators are close to freeing Bell Atlantic to offer long-distance service to its local customers, a first for a regional Bell company.

The Federal Communication Commission is expected to grant Bell Atlantic's request to enter the $8 billion New York long-distance market by week's end. The five commissioners haven't voted, but FCC officials said Saturday there is momentum toward the application being approved soon.

The commission has a statutory deadline of Dec. 28 to act on Bell Atlantic's request. The agency's chairman, Bill Kennard, has said he would like the matter decided before Saturday.

If Bell Atlantic won approval to provide long-distance to its local customers in 13 eastern states and the District of Columbia, it would mark a milestone since the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. That law permitted cable, local and long- distance companies to get into each others' businesses.

Before a Bell company can offer long-distance, it first must show in detail that it has opened up its local monopoly to give rivals a chance to compete.

Analysts long have predicted Bell Atlantic would receive approval, citing a 2 1/2-year effort by the company to demonstrate its local market is open to competition. That included tests by an independent third-party consultant to see whether Bell Atlantic's systems can handle orders sent by competitors for switching customers to their phone service.

Bell Atlantic officials have said the rigorous testing confirms they have met the federal requirements and now can offer long- distance.

"When we filed our application in September, we felt we were there," Bell Atlantic spokeswoman Susan Butta said.

The application received the endorsement of the New York Public Service Commission, while the Justice Department said the company could do more to give competitors access to its local network. The FCC has the final word.

To further reassure regulators and rivals, Bell Atlantic pledged last week to set up a separate unit for its high-speed Internet service in New York. That followed complaints by Internet competitors who said they weren't getting equal access to Bell Atlantic's local phone lines over which to deliver their high-speed connections.

Consumer advocates had voiced concerns in the early part of the process. But they said the company's application has gained strength during the three months. The recent push by companies like AT&T to promote their local phone service in New York has helped answer the question of whether the market is open, said Mark Cooper, research director for Consumer Federation of America.

"It's hard to say 'no' when all of the major companies are advertising their brains out," Cooper said.

Other Bell companies, including Ameritech and BellSouth, have been unsuccessful in their attempts to get FCC approval to enter the long- distance market within their region. But many experts believe Bell Atlantic's victory could create a roadmap for the others to follow.

Just this week, Southwestern Bell got the got the backing of state regulators in its own bid to offer long-distance service in Texas. The Texas Public Utility Commission unanimously agreed that the company, a subsidiary of the San Antonio-based SBC Communications, had sufficiently opened its local phone network to competitors.

The company is the next likely of the Bells to seek FCC approval.

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