[Naughty TELCOs]ALTS Faults Monopolies' Repeated Efforts to Bypass Competitive Requirements For Advanced Services
Competitive DSL Data Service Is Already Available to Millions of Homes
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS) faulted incumbent monopolies' requests today for ''relaxed regulation'' of advanced services as just the latest chapter in the phone giants' saga of trying to circumvent the Telecommunications Act and the rules governing local competition. In contrast to the incumbent monopolists' slow rollout, competitive providers already offer these services to over 5.0 million homes today and expect to quadruple service availability in 1999. ALTS is the leading national organization representing facilities- based competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs).
''In the world of advanced data services, the CLECs lead and the incumbents follow,'' said Cronan O'Connell, ALTS Vice President -- Industry Affairs. ''Since passage of the Act, the CLECs have invested $11 billion in building America's advanced local infrastructure, and have provided a major stimulus for today's booming Internet and DSL industries. We would be making even greater progress if the monopolies would obey the law -- including the FCC's Advanced Service Order of August 1998 -- and open their local networks to competition as the law directs them. Instead, the incumbent providers drag their feet on local competition, and try to circumvent the law.''
''Congress and the FCC have laid out the rules for local competition many times over the last several years, but the monopolies just don't like the rules,'' said O'Connell. ''Relaxing the rules cannot create more competition -- it will only lock in monopoly power. If PC companies, software makers and other interested parties want to help drive the growth of the Internet and DSL, they should encourage the incumbents to live up to the rules of competition -- the real stimulus of growth.''
ALTS is the national industry association whose mission is to promote facilities-based local telecommunications competition. Located in Washington, D.C., the organization was created in 1987 and represents companies that build, own, and operate competitive local networks. For information on ALTS, contact Jim Crawford at 703-715-0844 or visit the ALTS Web site at alts.org.
SOURCE: Association for Local Telecommunications Services
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