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Global Crossing Asks FCC to Review U.S.-Japan Cable
(Repeat)
Bloomberg News
January 6, 1999, 4:41 p.m. PT
Global Crossing Asks FCC to Review U.S.-Japan Cable (Repeat)
(Repeats to change headline)
Washington, Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Global Crossing Ltd.,
which is building an undersea fiber-optic cable to link the U.S.
and Japan, asked U.S. regulators to examine the competitive
impact of an AT&T Corp.-led group that's constructing a competing
$1 billion cable between the two countries.
By teaming up, the group -- which also includes MCI WorldCom
Inc., British Telecom Plc and 30 other companies -- will stifle
competition for international telecommunications services, Global
Crossing told the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
Customers would get lower prices if the FCC forced these
companies to build separate cables, Global Crossing said.
Hamilton, Bermuda-based Global Crossing, founded in March
1997, plans to begin providing service on its U.S.-Japan undersea
cable in March 2000. The company will compete for customers with
the group led by AT&T, the No. 1 U.S. long-distance company,
which has said its cable will be ready by the middle of 2000.
''In forming one massive consortium, these carriers have
chosen to cooperate rather than compete,'' Global Crossing said
in its filing with the FCC. The agency must grant a license for
any undersea cable linking the U.S.; it asked for comments on the
AT&T group's proposed cable.
The FCC should review the competitive impact of the group's
application ''before deciding whether and under what conditions''
to grant a license, Global Crossing said.
Cynthia Coulter, a company spokeswoman, declined to say what
conditions the FCC should place on the AT&T-led group. ''We've
asked the FCC to review the license in light of whether it
furthers the goal of promoting competition in the international
arena,'' Coulter said.
Millions of Calls
The high-speed cables will be able to handle millions of
simultaneous telephone calls and boost capacity for phone and
Internet traffic between the U.S. and Japan. In May 1998, Global
Crossing began providing service on a cable connecting the U.S.
and the U.K., and it plans a network to connect 100 cities in the
U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Global Crossing shares fell 27/32 to close at 44 5/32. The
shares have more than doubled since the company went public at
$19 on Aug. 14.
Shares of New York-based AT&T rose 3 3/8 to 82 7/8.
The FCC hasn't said when it will decide on the AT&T group's
U.S.-Japan cable license. The group will have about two weeks to
reply to Global Crossing's filing.
Officials with the group hadn't seen Global Crossing's
filing and declined to comment, said Patricia Robinson, an AT&T
spokeswoman.
Other members of the AT&T group include Japan Telecom Co.,
Sprint Corp. and Qwest Communications International Inc. The
13,000-mile (21,000-kilometer) link, called Japan-US Cable
Network, will connect from Ibaraki, Shima and Maruyama in Japan
to Kahe Point in Hawaii to San Luis Obispo and Point Arena in
California.
An AT&T-led group won permission from the FCC in August to
build the first undersea cable between the U.S. and China.
--Alan M. Wolf in Washington (202) 624-1880/wfs |
