To: margin_man who wrote (27325 ) 12/10/1997 6:30:00 PM From: Glenn D. Rudolph Respond to
BellSouth Comments on Justice Department's Recommendation to the FCC On Louisiana Long Distance Petition
PR Newswire - December 10, 1997 18:08
BLS %TLS V%PRN P%PRN
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- BACKGROUND: On November 6 BellSouth
(NYSE: BLS) asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to
offer long-distance service to BellSouth business and residential customers in
Louisiana. Today, the U.S. Department of Justice recommended that the FCC
reject BellSouth's petition to offer savings, convenience and competition in
Louisiana. BellSouth has a similar application pending to offer long-distance
service to customers in South Carolina. The FCC has a statutory deadline to
rule on the South Carolina petition by December 29 and to rule on the
Louisiana request by February 4.
The following statement may be attributed to Randy New, BellSouth vice
president - legislative implementation:
"We are extremely disappointed in the antitrust division's recommendation,
and can discern no real movement by the Department away from the positions
taken under the consent decree which was voided by the legislation.
"The Justice Department is overstepping its Congressionally-established
authority and second-guessing in weeks the six-months of proceedings in
Louisiana that resulted in certification by the Public Service Commission that
BellSouth had met the requirements to be allowed to offer long-distance
service -- and that it would be in the public interest.
"The government articulated no standard -- other than the 14-point
checklist -- against which our performance should be measured -- and we have
met the checklist.
"Customers of GTE and Sprint and all other local exchange carriers can be
offered the savings and convenience that BellSouth customers are denied while
we try to fathom what will satisfy the Justice Department.
"By continuing to cling to a bureaucratically-clouded focus on minutiae,
the Department of Justice is directly delaying competitive benefits for
consumers and contributing to a condition whereby there are two distinctive
technology tracks: a data-based fast track for businesses, and a marginalized
slower track for everyday consumers.
"Moreover, the points the Department of Justice makes on network
unbundling, pricing, operational supports systems and performance measurements
are irrelevant under the 1996 telecommunications law and under subsequent
court decisions.
"The Congress said that the Federal Communications Commission may not go
beyond the 14-point checklist designed to serve as the hurdle for long-
distance entry. And, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that
the Commission may not meddle with in-state rates. The DOJ is recommending
that the FCC do both. This is unacceptable to BellSouth and we believe
unacceptable to the Congress.
"Our network is open and our systems work -- competitors are using them to
compete for and win our business customers although they continue to ignore
the residential market; our prices are fair -- and have been ruled to be so by
our state commissions; our service is second to none.
"We can only hope that the FCC treats this recommendation as just that, --
an opinion that surely should not carry as much weight as the results of a
state regulatory proceeding which included full hearings, cross-examination
and a complete record."
BellSouth is a $19 billion communications services company. It provides
telecommunications, wireless communications, directory advertising and
publishing, video, Internet and information services to more than 28 million
customers in 20 countries worldwide.
For more information about BellSouth, visit the BellSouth Web page at
bellsouth.com . BellSouth news releases dating back one year are
available by fax at no charge by calling 1-800-758-5804, ext. 095650.
SOURCE BellSouth
/CONTACT: Bill Getch of BellSouth, 404-249-3961/
/Web site: bellsouth.com
(BLS)
