SBC Files Additional Evidence Supporting TX LD Application

New Evidence Addresses DOJ, FCC Concerns

SBC Communications [NYSE: SBC] today submitted additional information to the Federal Communications Commission supporting its application to bring competition to the Texas long distance market.

SBC's filing specifically addresses the three issues identified by FCC Chairman William Kennard on April 3, as well as concerns raised by the Department of Justice. It also details new steps taken by the company to address concerns filed with the FCC by third parties.

"Since we filed our long distance application with the Texas Public Utility Commission in March of 1998, we have resolved hundreds, if not thousands, of issues," said Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, SBC Senior Vice President for Federal Regulatory. "Only a handful of sticking points remain, and we believe this filing will put those concerns to rest."

After SBC notified the FCC on March 31 that it would make today's supplemental 271 filing, Chairman Kennard identified three outstanding issues which he said SBC needed to address: delivery of lines to competitors through a process known as "hot cuts"; provisioning to competitors of lines capable of providing high-speed Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service; and electronic integration of operations support systems used by competitors to obtain elements of SBC's network for providing local service.

SBC addressed each issue in detail in today's filing:

• Hot Cuts. New data for January and February of this year show that SBC exceeds the 90% performance benchmark established in the Commission's approval of Bell Atlantic's New York application for both types of hot cuts: coordinated hot cuts and frame due time. During the two month period, SBC completed close to 99 % of coordinated hot cuts within the two-hour window set by the Texas PUC, and between 92 and 96 percent of frame due time orders within the two-hour interval. The data overwhelmingly demonstrate compliance with the FCC's established standards.
  
  
• DSL Lines. Data shows that SBC competitors receive DSL-capable lines more quickly than SBC's own retail affiliate. SBC's advanced services affiliate, Advanced Solutions Inc., has already agreed to order some DSL-capable loops through the same nondiscriminatory processes and procedures used by SBC competitors. In addition, Southwestern Bell will implement the FCC's s line-sharing order in advance of the June 8 deadline mandated by the Commission.
  
  
• Electronic Integration. At least two competitors have now (through ex parte filings with the FCC) that they have integrated SBC's pre-order and ordering OSS interfaces, while others have commented positively on the responsiveness and support provided to them by SBC. SBC has also retained an independent consultant to complement existing SBC's resources, providing competitors with guidance on how to integrate the pre-ordering and ordering functions.

"The Commission now has the latest and most reliable information," said Hill-Ardoin. "We've always agreed with the Texas regulators who said that we met every statutory and regulatory requirement, and this new evidence only strengthens our application."

SBC also noted that competition in the local phone market has continued to increase since it filed its application. Competitors now operate over 1.7 million lines in Texas and have captured at least 384,010 new lines in the three months since SBC filed its Texas application. In March, both AT&T and MCIWorldCom began aggressive marketing campaigns to announce new local service offerings. Competitors have also captured almost 5000 DSL-capable loops provided by Southwestern Bell Telephone.

"The local phone market in Texas is irreversibly open and competitors of all sizes are thriving," Hill-Ardoin continued. "We look forward to bringing that same level of competition to the long distance market, but even more importantly, the same level of choice to consumers that they currently enjoy when selecting a local service provider."

SBC's Southwestern Bell Telephone subsidiary provides local service in Texas.