Copyright 1999 Boston Herald Inc.
The Boston Herald
December 23, 1999 Thursday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: FINANCE; Pg. 035
LENGTH: 551 words
HEADLINE:
Bell Atlantic gets fed OK - Can offer service in NY
BYLINE: By Joe Bartolotta
BODY:
Massachusetts' long-distance market is the
next target for Bell Atlantic Corp., after the Federal Communications Commission
yesterday approved the Baby Bell's request to offer that service in New York.
Bell Atlantic hopes to offer long distance to Massachusetts customers by
next summer, but must first duplicate its New York success by proving to
regulators that it has opened local phone service here to competition.
"You'll see a similar scrutiny of Bell Atlantic's systems in
Massachusetts as you had in New York," said Gary Morganstern, a spokesman for
AT&T Corp., which fought Bell's New York bid. AT&T expects to seek a
stay of yesterday's FCC decision as soon as today, while it challenges the
ruling before a Washington appeals court, Morganstern said.
The FCC's 250-page decision concludes Bell Atlantic met the requirements
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which states that a
regional phone company can offer long distance once it has opened local phone
service to competition.
Bell Atlantic's New York odyssey began more than
two years ago, surviving a rigorous review by Empire State regulators
and relentless challenges from AT&T and others who stand to lose customers.
"It's immediately good news for New York consumers and we hope in short
order it's good for Massachusetts customers also," said Robert Mudge, Bell
Atlantic's vice president for Massachusetts.
Prior to yesterday's
decision, five other Baby Bells had tried and failed to win FCC approval. Bell
Atlantic's success signals that greater competition looms in both the local and
long distance markets, industry observers say.
"The future is several
companies providing one-stop shopping to consumers as they compete against one
another in price and service," said U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Malden), a
leading proponent ofwho co-wrote the '96 Telecommunications law.
The
decision should make it easier for state's to review long-distance applications,
because regulators didn't know what the FCC wanted until now, said Paul
Vasington, a commissioner with the state Department of Telecommunications and
Energy.
The DTE is midway through its review of Bell Atlantic's
requestapplication to offer provide long-distance in Massachusetts, Vasington
said. An independent firm is testing Bell Atlantic's phone system to see if its
customers can be switched to competitors.
Some cable companies, such as
RCN Corp. and MediaOne Group Inc., have gotten into the local market using their
broadband networks, circumventing Bell Atlantic's systems.
MediaOne is
being bought by AT&T, giving the dominant long-distance carrierMa Bell has
an alternative way into the Bay State local service market it didn't have in New
York. But AT&T still plans to put up a fight locally.
"Certainly,
for those customers that fall outside our cable footprint, we do need
alternative modes and one of those will be Bell Atlantic's services,"
Morganstern said.
Vasington doesn't expect to see a rush of Baby Bells
entering the long-distance market, because New York regulators set a high
standard that may be difficult for some companies to meet, he said.
Bell
Atlantic plans to roll out prices for its service early next month. Within five
years, it hopes to win 25 percent of New York's $ 7 billion long-distance
market.
LOAD-DATE: December 23, 1999
