LANTimes article. CLECs debut. Carriers offer voice and data services
wcmh.com./lantimes/98/98may/805b048b.html
A relatively new acronym is being exchanged in telecom
and datacom circles: CLEC. CLECs (competitive local
exchange carriers) were spawned from the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. They differ from and
compete with ILECs (incumbent local exchanges) in that
they can offer local voice and data services in territory
otherwise monopolized by the ILECs.
CLECs tend to be regional and are required to apply for
CLEC status in the states in which they plan to offer
services. According to the research firm Frost & Sullivan,
nearly 200 CLECs are in business today, compared to the
roughly 1,500 ILECs that, in addition to the five Baby Bells,
include GTE Corp. and Sprint Corp. In their laconic
histories, CLECs have distinguished themselves as leading, if
not always deep-pocketed, service innovators. Teleport
Communications Group and e.spire Communications Inc.
offer combined local, long-distance, and IP services over a
single T-1 connection. HarvardNet, an ISP that transformed
itself into a
CLEC last year, was one of the first providers to offer
high-speed access services based on xDSL (Digital
Subscriber Line) technology. To further complicate matters,
ILECs can file as CLECs. Four of the five RBOCs have
filed for CLEC status in at least two states. US West leads
the pack, having won approval in 27 states and with
ap-plications pending in 22 others.
A primary advantage to being a CLEC is the tight
relationship it can share with incumbent telcos. CTC
Communications plans to offer business data services
without owning any network infrastructure. Instead, it will
lease and resell lines from Bell Atlantic. In lieu of operating
its own infrastructure, CTC says it will act as an outsourced
telecom manager for its customers--designing, servicing, and
maintaining the telecom and datacom networks of small and
mid-sized businesses.
However, CTC's "switchless" approach is the exception, not
the rule. CLECs generally build networks that run alongside
those owned and operated by their incumbent rivals.
PSINet is using interconnections with CLECs' networks to
expand its national IP network. CLECs e.spire, ICG
Communications Inc., and Eagle Communications Inc. in
New York will provide PSINet with thousands of ISDN
PRI (primary rate interface circuits).
"RBOCs would not give interconnections to us because
they're in a monopoly position and they're unfair in their
treatment of ISPs," laments PSINet CEO Bill Schrader in
Herndon, Va. "They're routinely unfair and this is the only
way around them."
"Whether it's US West, Bell Atlantic, or Ameritech, what
we're going to do is meet them on their turf, force them to
give us interconnections, and then eat their lunch," Schrader
says. |
