[U S WEST and Ameritech Seek Expedited FCC Review of Marketing Alliances with Qwest Offering Customers One-Stop Shopping for Local and Long-Distance Service]
Follows Two Federal Court Rulings Referring Decision to FCC, But Letting Customers in Ameritech Region Continue Signing Up for Program, While Customers in U S WEST Region Cannot
DENVER, June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- U S WEST and Ameritech today filed petitions formally requesting expedited review from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of their marketing alliances with Qwest, which offer customers the benefit of one-stop shopping for all their local and long-distance telecommunications needs. The petitions -- which ask for expedited declaratory rulings in less than 30 days -- follow rulings by two federal judges that the FCC, not the courts, should decide the merits of the issue.
In its June 9th ruling, however, the federal district court in Chicago denied an injunction sought by the big long-distance companies to block Ameritech customers from signing up for the program while the FCC decides the case. A June 5th ruling by the Seattle federal district court, on the other hand, suspended the offer for new customers, letting U S WEST and Qwest serve only customers already signed up.
The petitions filed by U S WEST and Ameritech today ask the FCC to expeditiously resolve the legal matters referred to it by the two federal judges by receiving comments from interested parties and promptly issuing its ruling.
"It is clearly in the interest of consumers to resolve this issue quickly and fairly," said Solomon D. Trujillo, president and CEO of U S WEST. "We now have two court rulings. One lets customers in Ameritech's five midwestern state continue signing up for the benefits of one-stop shopping. The other says customers in our 14 midwestern and western states cannot. Yet our two programs are virtually identical. And tens of thousands of customers in our region have voted for its value and convenience. The courts have referred this decision to the FCC. It's imperative they act on it promptly."
U S WEST began offering "Buyer's Advantage" in its 14 states on May 7, giving customers the benefit of U S WEST local service with the option of Qwest interstate long-distance service at a rate of 10 cents a minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Demand was overwhelming. In just over three weeks, almost 130,000 consumers signed up. Those customers weren't affected by the June 5th ruling.
The big long-distance companies, however, moved aggressively to squelch the program. AT&T, MCI and others filed suit against U S WEST in federal district court in Seattle, seeking a preliminary injunction to suspend the offering, which the court granted. AT&T and MCI claim the program violates the 1996 Telecommunications Act which prohibits regional phone carriers from "providing" out-of-state long-distance service for customers in their region.
U S WEST and Qwest believe "Buyer's Advantage" complies fully with the spirit and letter of the 1996 Act, offering customers more choice and better value in their long-distance service. Furthermore, it is Qwest, not U S WEST, that provides the long-distance to customers and gets the revenue. And other qualified long-distance companies, interested in providing the same value to customers, have the opportunity to join the program. |
