MCI WORLDCOM CEO SAYS RURAL BROADBAND HINGES ON UNE
AVAILABILITY
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September 09, 1999, Background: Senate Minority Leader Tom
Daschle (D., S.D.) today hosted a Summit on Rural Telecommunications to
discuss issues relating to the deployment of advanced telecommunications
services such as "digital subscriber loop" in rural areas. Attendees
included telecom industry CEOs, members of Congress, and FCC
commissioners.
The following statement should be attributed to Bernard J. Ebbers, MCI
WorldCom Chief Executive Officer:
"MCI WorldCom is committed to serving the needs of rural America. In
order to provide high-speed DSL services in rural areas, however, we need
to be able to lease the necessary equipment from the incumbent local
exchange carriers, as required by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Competitors must be able to lease a full complement of unbundled
network elements, including those needed to provide DSL, so we can use
those elements to provide a broad range of local services and high-speed
Internet access. Without these network elements, and the ability to use
them in combination, competition in rural areas will be impaired."
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