Hi Bernard,
>The Telephone Act of 1996 does not allow any RBOC to purchase the likes of QWST, LVLT, IIXC right now...<
IMO, just about anything in the Act of '96 and subsequent rules and orders by the FCC are challengeable on numerous grounds, be it freedom of speech, or fair and comparable treatment, or public needs and necessity, or whatever. I'm not saying that the challenger will always succeed, or even what the odds are, but some very strange positions in the past have held up in court in defiance of then-existing laws and rulings.
If an RBOC/LEC wants to acquire an LD carrier, I think it would be permitted if the restrictions were spelled out (can't operate as an LD carrier within own operating territory, end to end, or something like that), and certain operating units may need to be spun off or re-classified as a result.
Ray's example (downstream) of the SBC/SNET arrangement is a real doozey, because it speaks to an RBOC and a LEC- turned-interstate- carrier, a bit unusual for the past, but probably not an uncommon scenario going forward. Anyway, these are just my opinions, and they probably wont be borne out unless one of the larger BOCs, in a way similar to SBC, attempts to crack the barrier through some legal positioning, or some other means. Again, just MO.
Regards, Frank C. |
