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Technology Stocks : Westell WSTL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SteveG who wrote (8829)	1/7/1998 4:24:00 PM
From: SteveG	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 21342

<A> Justice-Telecom Ruling-2-: Cites 'Confusion And Disruption' WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Justice Department asked a federal judge to freeze his New Year's Eve ruling that overturned key provisions of the 1996 telecommunications-reform law. The government's request for a stay follows similar pleas from the nation's top long-distance carriers, which are preparing to appeal U.S. District Judge Joe Kendall's Dec. 31 decision. The Dallas judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by SBC Communications Inc. (SBC) and backed by U S West Communications Inc. (USW), saying provisions in the law unfairly hampered efforts by the nation's regional Baby Bells to enter the $80 billion long-distance telephone business. The decision paves the way for the two Baby Bells to begin offering their customers long-distance calling. But the Justice Department said the ruling would further confuse the regulatory landscape and should be stayed pending appeal. "A constantly changing telecommunications environment can only lead to confusion and disruption in business relationships," Justice said in the court filing, which was backed by the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T Corp. (T), MCI Communications Corp. (MCIC) and Sprint Corp. (FON) asked Kendall on Friday to stay his decision. If a stay isn't granted, the long-distance companies say their next stop is the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Several analysts say they expect Judge Kendall's decision to ultimately be reversed, though the process could take as long as two years to wind its way through the courts. SBC challenged portions of the telecom law in a suit filed in July in U.S. District Court in Wichita Falls, Texas. The San Antonio-based carrier said the law made it harder for the nation's five Baby Bells to begin offering long-distance than it did for other local carriers, such as GTE Corp. (GTE). The regional Bells had been barred from offering long-distance calling in their own service regions since the court-ordered breakup of Ma Bell in 1984. The telecom reform law lifted the ban for carriers that showed they had opened their local calling markets to rivals. Those provisions applied only to SBC and the other Baby Bells - local carriers once a part of AT&T. Independent local phone companies, like GTE and Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. (SNG) didn't fall under the court decree and are free to enter the long-distance business. The Bells argued that Congress unfairly singled them out for punishment, a contention Judge Kendall agreed with. Indeed, Kendall said the provisions strip the Bells of their ability to enter new markets and "tie their hands while their competitors such as GTE, AT&T and MCI take their punches." SBC filed its lawsuit after a decision by the Federal Communications Commission in June to reject the carrier's request to offer long-distance calling to its Oklahoma customers. The agency said SBC hadn't done enough to foster local competition in the state. Congress envisioned prying open the $100 billion local phone market using a carrot-and-stick approach. Bells that opened their markets to rivals like AT&T and MCI would be rewarded with permission to offer long-distance calling. So far, the FCC has rejected applications from Ameritech Corp. (AIT) and BellSouth Corp. (BLS), as well as from SBC. The Justice Department, which has an advisory role in the process, agreed with the FCC decisions. Among other things, Bells must show that they meet a 14-point checklist aimed at giving rivals access to local markets, a provisions Judge Kendall called "extremely onerous."