MCI WORLDCOM SUPPORTS REGULATORS' CALL FOR INDEPENDENT
TESTING OF U S WEST'S OPERATIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEMS
 |
 |
 |
News Bureau
Media
Relations
800-644-NEWS |
|
|
Investors
Scott
Hamilton
601-460-4981 |
 | |
|
DENVER, CO, JULY 8, 1999-MCI WorldCom is today issuing a
formal letter of support for a proposal by 13 state regulatory commissions
in U S WEST's 14-state territory. The regulators' proposal calls on U S
WEST to conduct region-wide collaborative testing of its Operational
Support Systems (OSS) and verify those results through third party
testing. The letter to regulators pledged MCI WorldCom's participation in
such an endeavor should the local phone monopoly sign-on.
"MCI WorldCom is inspired by this plan and looks forward to working
with regulators to execute it," said MCI WorldCom Public Policy Director,
Bill Levis. "U S WEST has erected a fortress to protect its monopoly
control over the local phone markets, but at the end of this process, we
believe that fortress will be penetrated. If conducted correctly and
comprehensively this proposal will go a long way towards loosening U S
WEST's chokehold over the local phone market."
Late last month, every state regulatory commission in U S WEST
territory-with the exception of the Arizona Corporation Commission-signed
a letter to U S WEST President and CEO, Sol Trujillo, encouraging the
company to agree to the collaborative OSS testing proposal. Regulators
said, ". . .we believe that the most efficient and timely method to
facilitate U S WEST's compliance with the requirements of the 1996
[Telecom] Act in regard to OSS is a region-wide collaborative effort."
The commissioners' letter explains that U S WEST must first prove that
its local markets are irreversibly open to competition. To prove its case
U S WEST must first satisfy a 14-point competitive checklist, which is
inextricably linked to its operational support systems. MCI WorldCom and
other competitors maintain that U S WEST has effectively stalled the
advent of local phone competition by simply offering an inadequate OSS to
competitors.
OSS are the fully automated, electronic order processing, database and
information systems that U S WEST uses to efficiently serve its customers.
In a competitive market OSS also includes the critical computer interfaces
that allow competing local phone companies to link with U S WEST's
information systems to enable competitors to handle new customer service
orders, installations, repair calls and billing functions. U S WEST is
required by law to provide would-be competitors with nondiscriminatory
access to its OSS. The logic behind this requirement is simple; if a new
local carrier cannot provide its customers with service quality equal to
that of the incumbent monopoly, the challenger cannot fairly compete.
In New York, MCI WorldCom is now providing local residential phone
service to more than 100,000 customers statewide because regulators there
and Bell Atlantic are pursuing third party testing there. A similar
process is underway in Texas.
"I can't say it better than the commissioners themselves when they
wrote that, 'this proposal serves the interests of U S WEST, the
competitive local exchange carriers, the state commissions, and especially
the customers in our states,'" continued Levis. "We too urge U S WEST to
recognize the benefits of this approach and agree to participate. The ball
is in U S WEST's court."
MCI WorldCom is a global leader in communications services with 1998
revenues of more than $30 billion and established operations in over 65
countries encompassing the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions.
MCI WorldCom is a premier provider of facilities-based and fully
integrated local, long distance, international and Internet services. MCI
WorldCom's global networks, including its state-of-the-art pan-European
network and transoceanic cable systems, provide end-to-end high-capacity
connectivity to more than 40,000 buildings worldwide. MCI WorldCom is
traded on Nasdaq under WCOM. For more information on MCI WorldCom, visit
the World Wide Web at http://www.wcom.com.
Additional Information
