Copyright 1999 The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta
Journal and Constitution
June 2, 1999, Wednesday, Home Edition
SECTION: Business; Pg. 5D
LENGTH: 432 words
HEADLINE:
ATLANTA TECH;
BellSouth taking 'competition' exam
BYLINE: Michael E. Kanell, Staff
SOURCE: Constitution
BODY:
BellSouth Corp. on Tuesday chose Hewlett-Packard to conduct a formal
evaluation of whether the company's network is as open to competitors as the law
says it should be.
Hoping the test by HP will bolster the argument that
BellSouth has done what is needed for it to be permitted to offer long-distance,
the company filed a loose-leaf notebook of more than 500, double-sided pages
with state regulators setting out guidelines for the testing.
A final
report from HP is slated for August. If the state Public Service Commission is
convinced of BellSouth's case, that agency could endorse an application for
long-distance approval to the Federal Communications Commission. "We believe our
systems are open," said BellSouth spokeswoman Lynn Bress. " We expect the
testing to show that, and we hope to apply to the FCC by the end of the year."
No regional Bell has yet been approved for long-distance, and BellSouth
still has an outside shot of being first.
Of the three states where FCC
approval seems the most likely, BellSouth in Georgia vies with Bell Atlantic in
New York and SBC Communications in Texas.
HP has also been selected by
Bell Atlantic to test its systems in New York. KPMG has been retained to audit
the results of HP's work.
The Telecommunications Act of
1996 set out rules aimed at spurring competition in a range of markets.
Regional Bells like BellSouth, which held virtual monopolies, were
required to make their local markets open to competition or be denied entry into
long- distance. Since passage of the law, BellSouth has tussled with critics
over whether its systems permitted a smooth connection to its network for
competitors.
Rivals like MCI WorldCom and AT&T argue that BellSouth
makes it too hard for a big company to offer local service to consumers.
BellSouth contends that competition is relatively easy: About 55
companies are competing in local service and that BellSouth has lost about
160,000 local customer lines to them. But only two companies compete in the
residential market: MGC Communications and MediaOne.
Also Tuesday, the
U.S. Supreme Court sided with Ameritech and GTE, removing a requirement that
they be forced to carry competitors' phone traffic in what is known as
"interoffice transmission."
An appeals court had ruled that competitors
need only buy what use they need of the local network between central offices.
The court handed the matter back to an appeals court to reconsider.
BellSouth, which has not been a party to the suit, carries competitors'
calls between switches, said spokesman Bill McCloskey.
LOAD-DATE: June 2, 1999 
