Access Integrated Networks (AIN) said Fri. it had sent letters to...
Access Integrated Networks (AIN) said Fri. it had sent letters to every state utility commissioner in BellSouth’s 9-state region suggesting that full structural separation of company was only permanent remedy for interconnection problems it and other CLECs have been…
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facing. Letters are same as AIN sent to Ga. PSC commissioners suggesting they should require BellSouth to separate its wholesale and retail business units before endorsing its pending interLATA long distance entry bid. Letters to Ala., Fla., Ga., Ky., La., Miss. N.C., S.C. and Tenn. regulators weren’t official complaints, AIN said, but were meant to call regulators’ attention to need for action. Macon,. Ga.-based CLEC, which relies on unbundled network element platform (UNE-P) services from BellSouth to serve 44,000 lines across 8 of BellSouth’s states, said it had experienced 2 main types of problems: (1) Long service delays due to inefficient operation support systems (OSS) for ordering. (2) Failures by BellSouth to coordinate disconnection and reconnection functions of establishing UNE-P service, with AIN customer losing dial tone as result. Rodney Page, AIN vp-marketing and former BellSouth employee, said that while many BS employees on wholesale side were committed to serving their CLEC customers, “organizationally, the retail side of the house rules the roost.” He acknowledged establishing UNE-P service was complex job but said AIN must have predictable, consistent service from BellSouth if it’s to get and keep customers. “As a separate business unit, the wholesale side will have the same corporate incentives as retail to efficiently serve its customer base,” Page said. BellSouth spokesman said company regretted any service problems suffered by AIN or other CLECs and was striving regionwide to eliminate wholesale glitches. BS said service losses cited by AIN represented failure rate of under 1% on CLEC orders, and that structural separation would be unlawful and excessive punishment for claimed wholesale service problems.