Very interesting.
newsalert.com
RCN Urges FCC to Reject Verizon's Application to Offer Long Distance In Massachusetts
Company Says Verizon Has Not Met Checklist Condition 3 to Provide Competitors Non-Discriminatory Access to Poles, as Required by Law
PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- RCN Corporation (Nasdaq: RCNC) today asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny Verizon's application for long-distance entry in Massachusetts until Verizon fully complies with all the conditions required by the federal Telecommunications Act. In comments filed today with the FCC, RCN detailed specific actions Verizon has taken in hampering local phone competition in Massachusetts, using Quincy, Mass. as an example. RCN's filing focused specifically on Verizon's actions relative to checklist item 3 of the Telecom Act, which requires non-discriminatory access to poles, conduits, ducts and rights-of-way.
RCN noted that Verizon's Massachusetts 271 proceeding is the first in which the issue of lawful access to utility poles has been raised in a significant way.
"Verizon has slowed RCN's access to the poles it needs in order to complete construction of its new fiber optic broadband network, effectively impeding competition," said Scott Burnside, senior vice president of Regulatory and Government Affairs for RCN. "Timely access is vital if residents in communities like Quincy are to have a real choice of telecom providers. Before approving Verizon's application, the FCC must require Verizon to prove that competitors such as RCN have non-discriminatory access to all the poles competitors require to offer their services."
RCN noted that more than a year after initiating the process to gain access to the necessary 9,500 poles it requires to offer its services in Quincy, only 33 percent have been licensed by Verizon. By comparison, in Massachusetts towns where RCN has to work only with its partner BecoCom, it is able to launch its services on average within a year after beginning construction of its network.
At issue: Verizon's refusal to "box" poles
RCN is opposing Verizon's application primarily because Verizon refuses to permit RCN to box poles as part of its network build-out. Boxing allows the attachment of wiring to both sides of a pole rather than one side only. It can significantly accelerate the build-out of a wire-based system in a cost-effective way compared to alternatives, and is widely practiced in the industry and elsewhere in Verizon's service area. The FCC also has endorsed boxing as an acceptable practice.
"In fact, some 20 percent of the poles in Quincy are already boxed yet when we sought to box some of the other 80 percent of the poles, Verizon has refused," said Burnside. "In our view, this constitutes anti-competitive behavior."
RCN has more than one million service connections, with the Boston metropolitan market its largest. RCN currently operates in 12 Boston area communities and is authorized to provide cable service in the city of Boston and 26 surrounding communities.
About RCN Corporation
RCN Corporation (Nasdaq: RCNC) is the nation's first and largest single-source facilities-based provider of bundled local and long distance phone, cable television and high-speed Internet services to the densest residential markets in the country. RCN is currently delivering broadband services over its Megaband(TM)Network or designing and building its network on the East and West coasts as well as Chicago. In addition, RCN is a leading Internet Service Provider in its markets. Additional information can be found at: rcn.com.
Some of the statements made by RCN in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. RCN believes that the primary factors include, but are not limited to uncertainties relating to economic conditions, acquisitions and divestitures, government and regulatory policies, the pricing and availability of equipment, materials, inventory and programming, RCN's ability to develop and penetrate existing and new markets, technological developments and changes in the competitive environment in which RCN operates. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found in RCN's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this release should be evaluated in light of these important factors.
SOURCE RCN Corporation
/CONTACT: Nancy Bavec of RCN Public Relations, 609-734-3772/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 125089/
/Web site: rcn.com
(RCNC) |
