 |
        
|
 |
 |
| Association
of Communications Enterprises |
1401 K
Street, N.W. Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20005 |
Phone:(202)
835-9898 Fax:(202) 835-9893 | |
 |
Contact: Celeste Powers Director of Public Affairs (202) 835-9898, ext.3015 cpowers@ascent.org | ||
| Southwestern Bell Seeks Premature
Long Distance Entry Warns TRA |
| (Washington, D.C., January 10, 2000) – The
following can be attributed to Ernest B. Kelly III, president of the
Telecommunications Resellers Association (TRA), in response to
Southwestern Bell’s application for Texas long distance market entry
filed today with the Federal Communications Commission.
“SBC’s 271 application to provide long distance service to customers in the state of Texas raises the threshold question of whether SBC has met the 14-point checklist required by the 1996 Telecommunications Act for such authority. As usual, TRA will look to its members who are doing business with SBC to ascertain how those conditions are being met in the market. Based on initial input we have serious concerns in this regard. The FCC will be judged anew on this application. Their approval of Bell Atlantic’s application to offer long distance in New York set the minimum standard for evaluating whether an RBOC has fully opened its markets to competition. In our opinion, the FCC should apply precisely the same criteria to SBC in Texas as it did to Bell Atlantic in New York. If SBC does not measure up, then the application must be rejected and SBC must address any shortcoming before reapplying. In many ways this application is even more important than Bell Atlantic’s. It will determine whether the FCC has the perseverance and courage to insure that Americans throughout the country can expect that local monopolies are opening their markets to competition on an equal, fair and consistent basis.” |
 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. |