Copyright 2000 P.G. Publishing Co.
Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
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November 9, 2000, Thursday, SOONER EDITION
SECTION: BUSINESS, Pg. F-1
LENGTH: 443 words
HEADLINE:
AT&T DISPUTES REPORT FAVORABLE TO VERIZON
BYLINE:
FRANK REEVES, POST-GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
BODY:
State regulators soon are expected to release a report by
consultants on whether Verizon's computer systems can handle customer orders to
switch their local service from Verizon to AT&T, MCI Worldcom and other
competitors.
The state Public Utility Commission received a draft copy
of the report, prepared by KPMG, last week. KPMG is an international consulting
firm with offices in Pittsburgh. If the report concludes that Verizon's
customer-switching systems are adequate, it would bolster Verizon's claim that
it has opened the local phone market, which it has long dominated, to
competition.
Verizon Communications Corp., formed earlier this year
after a merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, has asked the Public Utility Commission
and the Federal Communications Commission to approve a plan that would allow it
to offer long-distance service in Pennsylvania.
But under the 1996
federal Telecommunications Act, Verizon must prove that it has opened its local
phone monopoly to competition before the FCC may approve its application to
provide long distance.
Though the PUC hasn't released the report,
Verizon is touting the results:
"The KPMG report shows our systems are
performing extremely well," said Daniel Whelan, president of Verizon
Pennsylvania. "Their performance proves that Verizon's systems meet the
requirements of the Telecommunications Act for long-distance entry."
Verizon has asked the PUC to speed its review of Verizon's application
to provide long-distance service.
But Jim Ginty, president of AT&T
Pennsylvania, yesterday sharply criticized Verizon for trying to "short-circuit"
the PUC's review process. He said that state regulators should follow the review
process they laid out last year.
AT&T has repeatedly complained that
Verizon wants to move into the long-distance market, where AT&T has long
been dominant, before opening up local phone service to competition.
Ginty said neither he nor AT&T officials have read the KPMG report.
But based on the way KPMG tested Verizon's customer-switching systems in New
York, Ginty said he was concerned that the tests used did not reflect real life
situations.
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LOAD-DATE: November
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