FCC APPROVES SBC'S SEC. 271 PETITION
FCC voted Fri. to approve SBC’s Sec. 271 application to offer long distance service to customers in Kan. and Okla., agency said late Mon. Commission said action wouldn’t become effective for 43 days to permit pricing amendments, filed recently by SBC, to become effective. Ex-FCC Chmn. William Kennard cast his vote before leaving Fri. New Chmn. Powell dissented in part because he disagreed with 43-day delay.
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Agency said this was first time it had approved long distance application for rural state. “Approval of SBC’s long distance application promises substantial benefits for consumers in the form of new service providers, lower prices, tailored and bundled service packages and better customer services,” Commission said. SBC filed its petition Oct. 26, with endorsement from regulators in both states. However, Dept. of Justice questioned prices SBC charged competitors for unbundled network elements, saying they were higher in Kan. and Okla. than in Tex. SBC argued that its costs were higher in Kan. and Okla. but it since has offered to lower prices. SBC now will have 3 states with Sec. 271 approval because it won approval for Tex. last summer. Total of 4 states have cleared Sec. 271 hurdle now, counting Verizon’s N.Y. entry, which was first one.
“Long distance is more than just another product,” said Stan Sigman, pres. of SBC’s Southwestern Bell unit. “It rounds out our full-service bundles and is key to capitalizing on data, our company’s single biggest growth opportunity and new core business,” he said. SBC said it wouldn’t launch service under SBC Long Distance brand until March 3 because of 43-day delay.
WorldCom Vp Donna Sorgi said company was “disappointed” that FCC hadn’t heeded DoJ’s “serious concerns” that SBC’s UNE pricing in Kan. and Okla. would “create a barrier to local competition.” She said it was hard to see how consumers could benefit when it was “not economically viable for competitive carriers to provide another choice for local service.”