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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 | ||
| ASCENT Says Bell
Atlantic-Massachusetts Misses 271 Compliance Mark |
| Washington, D.C. July 18, 2000— The Association of
Communications Enterprises (ASCENT) told the Massachusetts
Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) that Bell
Atlantic–Massachusetts (BA-MA) has yet to open its local markets to
meaningful and irreversible competition as required by the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. In a brief filed today, ASCENT
stated that despite the purported similarities between BA-MA’s
operations and those of its New York counterpart, Bell Atlantic–New
York, BA-MA has failed to date to stand on its own state-specific
compliance record to receive the favorable DTE recommendation it so
covets. According to the Association, the extensive record in this
case makes it clear that BA-MA needs more work in making
Massachusetts’ local competition work, if it is to hit the
compliance “bull’s eye.” “Bell Atlantic’s own Massachusetts performance data and the evidence in this case reveal gaping holes in meeting the Telecommunications Act’s standards for serving competitors at parity with the company’s own service” said ASCENT Executive Vice President David Gusky. “Bell Atlantic cannot simply dismiss these shortcomings as ‘small disparities,’ any more than it can argue that it complies with the Act by its association with Bell Atlantic – New York. These disparities could mean the difference of life and death for our smaller company members,” Gusky continued. “We don’t want to witness another premature long distance entry authorization fiasco as we did in New York.” ASCENT specifically took issue with several BA-MA performance results as well as raising provisioning, maintenance, and billing problems which competitors continue to experience in working with BA-MA. The Association expressed particular interest in the final results of BA-MA’s operations support system testing, now nearing completion, as a crucial indicator of whether BA-MA is able to sustain compliant performance. |
 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. |