Leading Competitive Telecom Companies Ask FCC to Deny AT&T-BellSouth Merger
June 06 2006 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Largest RBOC to RBOC Merger in History Must Be Denied or Have
Strict and Enforceable Merger Conditions to Protect Public Interest
WASHINGTON, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of the nation's leading
competitive telecommunications companies have filed comments urging
the Federal Communications Commission to deny the merger of
AT&T and BellSouth, citing the irreparable harms to competition
and the public interest that would result from the largest RBOC to
RBOC merger in history of the telecommunications industry. The
companies that filed the comments are Cbeyond Communications,
Grande Communications, NuVox Communications, Supra Telecom, Talk
America, XO Communications and Xspedius Communications. According
to the group, the AT&T and BellSouth merger only serves to
create a larger monopoly that will have an even greater ability to
thwart competition through its increased control of local networks
and dominance over intra-modal services. Through its acquisition of
BellSouth, AT&T -- which is already the nation's largest
provider of local voice, long distance, and broadband DSL services
-- will increase its dominance of these wireline-based services,
extend its monopoly to 22 states and become the nation's largest
wireless provider, creating the nation's largest intra-modal
services RBOC. The group outlined three overall areas that the
combination of AT&T and BellSouth will bring significant harms
to consumers and businesses. They include: * Eliminating Existing
and Future Competition between RBOCs. As adjacent RBOCs, AT&T
and BellSouth are the most significant current and potential
competitors to one another in the consumer and business telecom
services markets. Both companies have significant network assets in
each other's regions. * Undermining the Implementation of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. The AT&T and BellSouth merger
will undermine the ability of regulators and competitors to
implement the pro-competitive, deregulatory framework for local
telecommunications that was adopted by Congress in the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. * Increased Incentive to
Discriminate Against Competitive Providers. By extending its
monopoly control over local network facilities in BellSouth's
territory, AT&T will have an increased incentive and ability to
discriminate against competing service providers in retail markets
that depend on access to AT&T's local network facilities in
order to provide service. Speaking on behalf of the group, Heather
Gold, senior vice president of government relations at XO
Communications, said, "The time has now come when the FCC must ask
itself, 'Are we going too far this time?' This merger will do
nothing to bring more competition and choices for consumers and
businesses. It will concentrate even more market power in the new
AT&T, which is quickly reassembling the old Bell System. The
FCC needs to say that enough is enough, and stop the incessant
effort of AT&T to reestablish its nationwide wireline monopoly
by using monopoly profits to gobble-up its competitors, rather than
by competing for customer loyalty through innovation and service."
If the merger is not denied, the group asked the FCC to impose
stringent and enforceable conditions to offset the enormous
anti-competitive effects of the proposed merger. The group noted in
its comments, that the FCC imposed merger conditions on previous
RBOC to RBOC mergers that the merging companies simply ignored or
which were not enforced. "We have been down this road before of
failed promises following previous Bell to Bell mergers, like those
of SBC and Ameritech," said Gold. "The conditions on this merger
must have strong enforcement mechanisms with severe penalties if
they are not followed. The function of regulatory agencies is to
enforce its policies, not to rubber stamp industry actions which
thwart those policies." The group's comments discussed more than
twenty specific conditions involving access to AT&T and
BellSouth network facilities and services and divestitures of
overlapping network assets that the FCC should impose on AT&T
and BellSouth if the proposed merger is approved, including: *
Ensure continued access to existing AT&T/BellSouth "section
251" unbundled network elements at rates capped at current levels;
* Require AT&T/BellSouth to file with states just and
reasonable rates for "section 271" network elements; * Ensure
continued access to AT&T/BellSouth special access services at
rates capped at current levels and on a non-discriminatory basis
and with a "fresh look" period to permit customers to change
providers without incurring penalties; * Continue to offer
AT&T's wholesale private line services at current rates in
BellSouth territory; * Provide access to copper loops
decommissioned by AT&T/BellSouth; * Eliminate eligibility
criteria on EEL UNEs; and * Divestiture of AT&T's metropolitan
network assets in BellSouth territory and BellSouth's wireless
assets, including licenses in the 2.5 GHz range. About Cbeyond
Cbeyond (NASDAQ:CBEY) is an Atlanta-based managed services provider
that delivers integrated packages of voice, mobile and broadband
services to small businesses in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston,
Chicago and Los Angeles. Cbeyond offers core communications
services like local and long-distance voice and broadband Internet
access along with enhanced applications, including voicemail,
email, Web hosting, fax-to-email, data backup, file-sharing, VPN
and more. Cbeyond manages these services over a private,
100-percent Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) facilities-based
network. For more information on Cbeyond, visit
http://www.cbeyond.net/. About Grande Communications Headquartered
in San Marcos, Grande Communications is building a deep- fiber
broadband network to homes and businesses from the ground up.
Grande delivers high-speed Internet, local and long-distance
telephone, digital cable and wireless home security services over
its own advanced network to communities in Texas. Grande's bundled
service area includes portions of Austin, Corpus Christi, suburban
northwest Dallas, Midland, Odessa, San Antonio, San Marcos and
Waco. Grande also leverages its telephony and data infrastructure
by serving enterprises and communications carriers nationwide with
broadband transport services and network services. Grande's voice
network terminates traffic worldwide, offering both traditional and
IP-based services; its managed modem network provides coverage
nationwide; and its private line and metropolitan networks provide
optical services in Texas and surrounding states. Grande's
3,100-fiber-mile network incorporates SONET-based technology for
protection, diversity and optimal performance. For more information
on Grande Communications, visit http://www.grandecom.com/. About
NuVox Communications: NuVox Communications provides a complete
suite of communications services to business customers in Alabama,
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, and Tennessee. These services are provided through
advanced Lucent, Nortel, Sonus, and Cisco technology. NuVox's voice
over Internet protocol (VoIP) services are delivered via technology
from Cisco, Sonus, Sylantro, IP Unity, and Acme Packet. For more
information, visit http://www.nuvox.com/. About Supra Telecom Supra
Telecom, a privately held company established in 1996 and based in
Orlando, FL, provides nearly half of all competitive residential
access lines in the state of Florida and is one of the largest
residential competitors to BellSouth, Sprint and Verizon. Supra
provides local, domestic and international long distance,
voicemail, and Internet service to its business and residential
customers. Today, Supra Telecom(R) serves the states of Florida and
New York. For more information about Supra Telecom, visit
http://www.supratelecom.com/. About Talk America Talk America
(NASDAQ:TALK) is a leading competitive, integrated communications
provider that offers phone services and high speed Internet access
to both business and residential customers. Services include local
and long distance phone service, and data services such as
high-speed connectivity, security, web hosting, and network
services. Talk America delivers value in the form of savings,
simplicity and quality service to its customers through its leading
edge network and award-winning back office. About XO Communications
XO Communications, a subsidiary of XO Holdings, Inc. (OTC:XOHO.OB)
(BULLETIN BOARD: XOHO.OB) , is a leading provider of national and
local telecommunications services to businesses, large enterprises
and telecommunications companies. XO offers a complete portfolio of
services, including local and long distance voice, dedicated
Internet access, private networking, data transport, and Web
hosting services as well as bundled voice and Internet solutions.
XO provides these services over an advanced, national
facilities-based IP network and serves more than 70 metropolitan
markets across the United States. For more information, visit
http://www.xo.com/. About Xspedius Communications Xspedius
Communications, LLC, is a leading facilities-based provider of
integrated communications services to small and medium sized
businesses in the southern United States. The company, based in
O'Fallon, MO, uses a unique blend of innovation and efficiency to
deliver a comprehensive suite of high quality services, including
local and long distance voice, data and dedicated Internet access
services, in 46 facilities-based markets located in 20 states and
the District of Columbia. For more information, visit
http://www.xspedius.com/. DATASOURCE: XO Communications CONTACT:
Chad Couser of XO Communications, +1-703-547-2746, ; or Susanne
Hite of NuVox Communications, +1-864-672-5097, Web site:
http://www.xo.com/ http://www.cbeyond.net/
http://www.grandecom.com/ http://www.nuvox.com/
http://www.supratelecom.com/ http://www.xspedius.com/
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