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To: Bernard Levy who wrote (908)	7/6/1998 7:03:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Respond to of 3178

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.

To: Bernard Levy who wrote (908)	7/7/1998 3:07:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3178

Bernard, >>If you look at difficulties that RBOCs are placing in the path of operators trying to rent space in COs for placing xDSL equipment, I do not think you could disagree.<< I'll agree with you partially, that it has been no cake walk for integrators and specialized resellers to promote their DSL platforms, but things have been shaping up, however slowly. There is a momentum afoot, as you may recognize in the press release below. It speaks to a ruling which will open up the central offices of Bell South for DSL loop resale. This was predictable, and it was only a matter of time. Bernard, or Anyone, do you care to speculate what the outcome of this ruling will be in Bell South country and elsewhere? Any public players to watch (since many of the players in this genre are still development-level companies)? Any thoughts at all? Regards, Frank C. =================== Baby Bell ordered to open offices to xDSL carriers July 7, 1998 ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMES via NewsEdge Corporation : Miami - Supra Telecommunications and Systems Inc., a minority-owned competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) serving the greater Miami area, won a key ruling last week from the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) that may force BellSouth to allow Supra to provision digital subscriber line services through BellSouth facilities. The ruling has been called a precedent because it marks the first time a state has ordered a Baby Bell to open its central offices to other carriers for xDSL. Paradyne Corp., a hardware partner to Supra, was a key supporter of the CLEC in the hearings, since Paradyne's HotWire DSL technology is being aimed at CLEC and Internet service providers using leased copper from incumbent local exchange carriers. Reform provision The ruling is the first in the country ordering ILECs to comply with the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 by making facilities available to alternative carriers. In many regions, ILECs have sued alternative carriers to prevent access to central office equipment or "dry copper," though the Telco Reform Act supposedly prevents them from doing so. "The ruling sets an important precedent for both consumers and carriers, " said Frank Wiener, vice president of DSL at Paradyne. Kayode Ramos, Supra chief executive officer, said the PSC found BellSouth had failed to implement a 1997 agreement dealing with resale, co-location and interconnect services. "Moving forward, we hope regulators will do more to level the playing field," Ramos said. As a result of the ruling, Supra is ready to deploy HotWire equipment this month in 17 central offices in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Orange counties, and plans to extend the service areas to 42 central offices by year's end. Services will be branded as SupraConcorde, in increments from 256 kbits/second to 2.56 Mbits/s downstream at prices starting at $60 a month. BellSouth would not comment, but Ramos said he expects the ILEC to comply quickly. Copyright - 1998 CMP Media Inc. <<ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMES -- 07-06-98, p. PG8>> [Copyright 1998, CMP Publications]