The following statement should be attributed to David M. Eisenberg, vice president, state external affairs for Sprint:

Bell Atlantic has come a long way  but not far enough  toward meeting the requirements of opening its local market for Federal Communications Commission approval to provide long-distance service in New York. A competitive local marketplace means a level playing field for all players, but the field is still tilted in Bell Atlantics favor.

Sprint and others have identified several areas in which Bell Atlantic needs to make further progress to open its New York market for competition, and the New York Public Service Commission, after extensive review, has not made a recommendation on approval. Specifically, problems still exist related to Bell Atlantics software and systems to interact with other carriers, its ability to switch traffic to competitors, and other problems that would result in competitors having to incur considerable expense to overcome Bell Atlantic shortfalls to ensure they can provide equal or better service to New Yorkers.

These are important considerations for the FCC commissioners as they review Bell Atlantic's application, and Sprint believes that the request should not be granted until problems are fully addressed.

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Contact:

James Fisher, Sprint, (O) 202-828-7406

E-mail: james.w.fisher@mail.sprint.com