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| Association
of Communications Enterprises |
1401 K
Street, N.W. Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20005 |
Phone:(202)
835-9898 Fax:(202) 835-9893 | |
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Contact: Celeste Powers Director of Public Affairs (202) 835-9898, ext.3015 cpowers@ascent.org | ||
| Competitive Broadband Coalition
Study Affirms New Entrants and Competition Are Driving Deployment of
Advanced Data Services Study Finds 'No Critical Shortage' of Broadband Service in Rural America; Explodes Myth That Only Large Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers Are Capable of Building Broadband Networks in Rural and Non-Rural Areas |
| Competitive service providers are driving deployment
of advanced telecommunications services in both urban and rural
areas, according to the findings of a new study released by the
Competitive Broadband Coalition, a group representing associations
and companies that provide competitive broadband services. The
study, by noted telecommunications economist Dr. Lee L. Selwyn,
president of Economics & Technology, Inc., reviews competition
in broadband deployment since passage of the Telecommunications Act
of 1996. Findings were released today by the Competitive Broadband
Coalition at ALTS '99, the Annual Convention and Trade Exposition of
the Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS). The
study explores broadband alternatives nationwide with particular
focus on rural areas. Key findings include: · New entrants and small
local telephone companies are driving the deployment of broadband
services. · The availability of broadband services in rural areas is
more widespread than previously believed. Competition, not
regulatory quid pro quo, is driving the acceleration of Regional
Bell Operating Companies' (RBOC) and GTE's broadband deployment,
according to the findings. The study points to service availability
data which conclusively demonstrates that RBOC deployment has in
most cases been triggered by prior broadband initiatives from cable
television operators via cable modem services, and competitive local
exchange carriers (CLECs) deploying DSL and wireless technologies.
"The notion that there is some sort of 'digital divide' is a fiction
being perpetrated by the RBOCs as the centerpiece of a public
relations campaign aimed at reversing three decades of competitive
U.S. telecom policy and extending these monopolies' historic
dominance of local telephone services into adjacent long distance
and Internet services," according to the study. In attempting to
create the impression that they represent the best chance of
broadband deployment to rural areas, the RBOCs conveniently ignore
two extremely important facts: · Broadband services have been
finding their way into rural communities without the supposed
critical involvement and investment by RBOCs and GTE, and without
the requirement to modify national telecommunications policies and
goals to appease their demands. · The RBOCs, in fact, have no
history of commitment to serving rural areas, and in recent years,
have been working diligently to offload their serving areas in many
of these communities. As evidence of these companies' reluctance to
do business in rural communities, the study points to a spate of
divestitures of small rural exchanges by US West and GTE over the
past several years. On the other hand, the study says there is
active provisioning of broadband backbone facilities in rural
communities by a number of entities including member companies of
the Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG), a coalition of wireless
rural service providers, and the National Telephone Cooperative
Association (NTCA), which represents rural wireline carriers. "The
study and the presence of facilities-based CLECs throughout the
United States proves beyond a doubt that competition is bringing
broadband services to rural areas as well as non-rural areas.
Congress got it right-competition, not an industrial policy favoring
monopolies, will deliver broadband to America," said John D
Windhausen, Jr., ALTS President. "The findings demonstrate that
competition must be allowed to take its course," said Barbara
Dooley, President of the Commercial Internet Exchange. "Otherwise,
we risk hampering the development and widespread use of advanced
communications services, including the Internet." "It's competition
and new communications companies - such as McLeod USA, Frontier and
Northpoint Communications--that are the real forces behind the
delivery of broadband services to all Americans--whether they live
in rural Minnesota or Montana," said CompTel President, H. Russell
Frisby, Jr. "The RBOCs and GTE have been playing fast and loose with
the facts about broadband services. This study debunks some of those
favored myths and gives a clearer picture of actual broadband
deployment across the country." "Rural communities have not been
left behind in realizing the benefits of competition in those
telecommunications sectors, such as long distance, in which
competition has been possible," said Ernie Kelly, President of the
Telecommunications Resellers Association. "If we follow this model,
the deployment of broadband services in rural America will continue
to be spurred by competitive policies in the same fashion."
|
 Association of Communications Enterprises (ASCENT) - http://www.ascent.org/ - is the leading trade organization of entrepreneurial communications firms and their suppliers. ASCENT member companies provide a full range of communications services utilizing narrowband, broadband and wireless technologies. They share a common desire for new business opportunities, technological innovation, managerial excellence, and adherence to high ethical standards. ASCENT's mission is to open all communications markets to full and fair competition and to help member companies design and implement successful business plans. Formerly the Telecommunications Resellers Association (TRA), ASCENT was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. |