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Technology Stocks : Qwest Communications (Q) (formerly QWST) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MangoBoy who wrote (2279)	10/6/1998 1:08:00 PM
From: MangoBoy	Respond to of 6846

[Qwest Backs Estimates As It Prepares To Fight Recent FCC Ruling] NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Qwest Communications International Inc. Tuesday backed analysts' third-quarter estimates and said it plans to appeal a recent Federal Communications Commission decision to bar a marketing deal it had struck with U S West Inc. and Ameritech Corp. The latest survey of analysts polled by First Call called for a loss of five cents a share in the third quarter. Joseph Nacchio, chief executive of the Denver long-distance provider, said the FCC "made an error in judgment" in ruling that a marketing pact in which the two Baby Bells were to market Qwest's services violated rules that keep the Bells out of long-distance until they can prove that their markets are open to competition. The deal was widely regarded as an innovative but legally questionable way to get around the legal restrictions. The Bells had argued that the marketing alliances, which had been suspended pending the FCC's decision, were legal because the local-phone companies didn't actually make money from the long-distance traffic. Instead, the carriers received a one-time fee from Qwest for each customer they signed up for the service. Ameritech (AIT) and U S West (USW), of Denver, had said the programs were aimed at giving their small-business and residential customers one-stop shopping for local and long-distance services. But FCC regulators said the programs amounted to the unauthorized sale of long distance by the Bells, while displacing the main incentive for forcing the Bells to open their markets to rivals. "The combination of (the Bells) holding themselves out as a one-stop place and then gaining financially from the provision of long distance -- and almost dictating and controlling long-distance rates -- makes it look like they are providing long distance," said Tom Power, adviser to FCC Chairman William Kennard. "We reject that." The FCC's move was a victory for Bell rivals and Qwest's competitors. AT&T Corp. and others had filed lawsuits against Ameritech and U S West, charging that the programs violated telecommunications law. In both cases, federal courts asked the FCC to rule on the merits of the marketing alliances. "If the (Bells) are serious about competition, they should spend more time complying with the act and less time trying to evade its requirements," MCI WorldCom Inc. had said. Indeed, the FCC's ruling cuts off another avenue for a quick Bell entry into the potentially lucrative long-distance market. Last month, a federal appeals court overturned a controversial ruling that could have cleared the way for Bell entry into the long-distance market on the grounds that the Telecom Act unfairly singled out the former monopolies for different treatment than non-Bell local carriers. That means the Bells' best chance for getting into the long-distance business is to comply with a complicated checklist that proves they have made it easier for rivals to offer competing local services in the Bells' territory. So far, no Bell company has passed the test. Checklist items include offering competitors access to 911 and directory-assistance services. Qwest, the aggressive startup controlled by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz and run by former AT&T Corp. executive Nacchio, has been one of the hottest companies on Wall Street, grabbing headlines with its bold strategy of building robust fiber-optic pipelines. The company started out as a "carrier's carrier," selling capacity to phone companies such as Frontier Corp. and GTE Corp. Last year, Qwest pushed into the retail business in earnest with a splashy, 7.5 cents-a-minute, long-distance offering that sends voice calls using Internet technology. Because of their cutting-edge technology, companies like Qwest and IXC Communications Inc. are part of a group of firms viewed as a serious challenge to traditional phone such as AT&T Corp.

To: MangoBoy who wrote (2279)	10/6/1998 1:09:00 PM
From: MangoBoy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6846

[Qwest will appeal FCC on Bell alliances] NEW YORK, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Qwest Communications International Inc. said Tuesday it plans to appeal against a Federal Communications Commission decision opposing its telephone long distance marketing agreements with U S West Inc. and Ameritech Corp. Once the FCC submits its formal rulings against the marketing agreements, Qwest plans immediately to file an appeal, said Joe Nacchio, chief executive officer of Qwest, speaking after a presentation at the Wall Street Journal Technology Summit. "I believe today or tomorrow they will issue their formal ruling. The minute they do, we'll be filing an appeal. This battle is a long a way from being over," Nacchio said. Last month the FCC issued an opinion banning the marketing pacts between Qwest and the two Baby Bell operators, U S West and Ameritech. Under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the Baby Bells cannot offer long distance in their core regions until they open their local markets to competition. Ameritech and Qwest have argued, however, that they can market the long distance services of an unaffiliated carrier, such as Qwest.