Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    CLECs Push Lawmakers to Break Up Bells

    Written by

    Caron Carlson
    Published June 4, 2001
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Like many small-business owners, Doreen Mastandrea is eager to cut costs when she sees an opportunity. So when a friend told her in 1998 about a company called ServiSense Inc., which provides not only local and long-distance telephone service but also electric service, she didnt hesitate to sign up.

      “Any savings we can get, we go for,” said Mastandrea, who operates the Paint-a-Plate store in Lexington, Mass. “Im not going to sit down with numbers and minutes and all that jazz. I just try things out.”

      The difficulty for ServiSense and other startup CLECs, or Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, is that word-of-mouth advertising goes only so far, and they do not have sufficient advertising budgets to compete with the legacy brand names of the RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies) they compete with. Whats worse, they say, the Bells have an inherent incentive to undermine CLEC efforts. To eliminate that incentive, they are asking the government to separate the Bells into independent wholesale and retail businesses.

      CLECs rely on the Bells for final network connections to customers, and although the connections and the right to resell local service are mandated by the 1996 Telecommunications Act, CLECs charge the Bells with not cooperating. ServiSense, which has approximately 30,000 customers nationwide, found that the level of cooperation varies widely state by state. In Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, it found regulatory environments conducive to competition, and it signed up approximately 8,000 customers in each state, according to Chris McKeown, chairman and CEO, in Newton, Mass.

      In Maryland and Ohio, however, ServiSense confronted so many difficulties working with the Bells that it stopped marketing services in those states. In Maryland, the CLECs filed official complaints against Verizon Communications Inc. with state regulators, charging, among other things, that Verizon took too long to process orders when customers switch service providers. In Pennsylvania, it generally takes one day or less to process an order, but in Maryland it can take between three and 21 days, according to the company. CLECs also charge that Bells use unfair tactics to win back customers.

      “As soon as we sign up a new customer, the BOC goes right to work immediately with free offers and other deals,” McKeown said. “They get the information solely by virtue of being a monopoly, and we dont even know that our customer has been enticed with a win-back offer.”

      Pennsylvania regulators are leading the charge to separate the RBOCs into wholesale and retail units, but the effort is gaining momentum elsewhere as well.

      Legislators in Michigan introduced a bill last month to require structural separation of SBC Communication Inc.; a coalition of CLECs and long-distance carriers petitioned the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to do the same for SBC in Indiana; and AT&T Corp. testified to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities that structural separation of Verizons New Jersey operations is required by state law, backing up a petition the long-distance carrier filed in February.

      “Within the last six weeks, structural separation at the state level has really heated up. However, this will be a long, drawn-out process. It could take six months to two years in each state,” said Maureen Flood, director of Regulatory and State Affairs at Washington-based CompTel, which supported petitions filed with regulators in Florida, Tennesee and Virginia as well as Indiana and New Jersey.

      The Bells reject the charge that they act in an anti-competitive way to impede the CLECs service. Verizon Executive Vice President William Barr defended his company before the House Judiciary Committee late last month in the face of severe criticism from lawmakers. Responding to charges of RBOC monopolistic behavior by the committees ranking Democrat, Rep. John Conyers, of Michigan, Barr said, “All claims of the competitors have been levied and rejected. … I think its wrong to immediately give credence to claims of foot dragging.”

      Congress is considering a bill to increase fines against the Bells for violating competition laws and other bills that would treat anti-competitive accusations as antitrust complaints. But the matter of structural separation has not generated much official discussion in Washington, despite growing interest at the state level. However, the Democrats new majority position in the Senate brought about by the party switch by Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., could give the subject a higher profile.

      The only senator who has publicly advocated RBOC structural separation, Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., is in line to chair the Senate Commerce Committee.

      Hollings grilled Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell on his view of structural separation before confirming him for a second term as FCC chairman. (The second five-year term begins in June 2002.)

      Powell said he does not hold a position on whether Congress should require structural separation, but he said he believes it would be highly complicated.

      Caron Carlson
      Caron Carlson

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×