|
AT&T takes Bell to court
|
 |
December 28, 1999: 5:29 p.m. ET
Telecom giant takes action to thwart Bell Atlantic’s long-distance plan
By Staff Writer Richard Richtmyer
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - AT&T has sought legal action to block Bell Atlantic’s plan to offer long-distance service in New York.
In a joint motion it filed late Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, AT&T (T) and Covad Communications (COVD) requested that Bell Atlantic (BELL) be temporarily barred from providing the service, pending an appeal which the company said its plans to file on or before Jan. 4.
Bell Atlantic said it plans to begin offering the service on Jan. 5.
After the Federal Communications Commission denied its request to rescind a decision allowing Bell Atlantic to offer long-distance phone service in New York, AT&T said it has filed a challenge in a federal appeals court.
Tuesday’s move is the latest salvo in an ongoing long-distance battle between the two telecom outfits.
Earlier this month, the FCC approved Bell Atlantic’s application to offer long-distance service to customers in New York after determining that the company had opened its network to enough competing local carriers - a federal requirement before permission for long-distance service may be granted.
But AT&T, the nations No. 1 long-distance carrier, which has itself been moving into the local service area, contends that Bell Atlantic, the dominant local service provider in the Northeast, has not made it easy enough for customers to switch from one local carrier to another as it is for them to switch long-distance carriers.
The FCC on Monday denied AT&T’s request to rescind its decision to allow Bell Atlantic into the long-distance market, saying that it failed to raise any new arguments that had not already been considered.
Bell Atlantic has characterized AT&T’s moves as delay tactics and said it has not changed its plans to begin offering long-distance service beginning next week.
Some market observers have criticized AT&T’s move as a waste of time and money fighting a legal battle that it is almost certain to lose. But others see it as a shrewd tactic.
"Legal challenges obviously cost a lot of money,” said David Goldsmith, an analyst at Buckingham Research in New York. "But meanwhile, they’re moving very aggressively into the local loop, and the further they can get into the local loop, the less competitive Bell Atlantic becomes.”
Goldstein also pointed out that Bell Atlantic had engaged in similar delay tactics when it was forced to open up its network to other local service carriers.
"Clearly, the longer AT&T can delay it, the better off they are,” Goldsmith said.
Covad, which is based in Santa Clara, Calif., is a high-speed Internet and network access provider that offers digital subscriber line (DSL) services to Internet service providers and business customers over standard copper telephone lines. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
