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Telecommunications Reports presents....

TR DAILY
June 7, 2001
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Table Of Contents
Click here for the full issue:
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060701/index.htm


SBC WITHDRAWS BID TO OFFER
InterLATA SERVICES IN MISSOURI
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060701/Td060701.htm

LAWMAKERS, POLICY ADVOCATES
PITCH BROADBAND SERVICE BILLS
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060701/Td060701-01.htm

CARRIERS ASK WIRELESS BUREAU
TO RETHINK `E911' DECISION
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060701/Td060701-02.htm

MCI SHARES BEGIN TRADING AGAIN, AS
WorldCom ISSUES TRACKING STOCK
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060701/Td060701-03.htm

AT&T COMPLETES CABLE MODEM
`OPEN-ACCESS' TRIAL
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060701/Td060701-04.htm

NEWS IN BRIEF
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060701/Td060701-05.htm


***************************************************************
SBC WITHDRAWS BID TO OFFER InterLATA SERVICES IN MISSOURI

SBC Communications, Inc., today withdrew its petition to offer
in-region interLATA (local access and transport area) services in
Missouri in the face of FCC concerns about rates for unbundled
network elements and the adequacy of its operation support
systems (OSSs).

SBC said it would provide "additional evidence" supporting its
Missouri application and refile a petition with the FCC "as soon
as possible."  The FCC would have 90 days after the filing of the
new petition to decide whether SBC had complied with section 271
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which mandates that Bell
operating companies meet a 14-point "competitive checklist" of
market-opening requirements before they can offer in-region
interLATA services.

Refiling the application would enable SBC to "further address
questions raised by the Department of Justice and others over
SBC's original application, as well as provide updated evidence
of continued compliance with section 271," SBC said.  Justice
didn't recommend that the FCC reject the application, but it did
raise several questions, including whether SBC's unbundled
network element rates in Missouri complied with the FCC's TELRIC
(total-element long-run incremental cost) standard (TR, May 14).

"We believe our application for Missouri passes all the tests,
and Missouri regulators agreed by unanimously endorsing our
application," said Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, SBC senior vice
president.  "Our markets are open, as the rapid growth of
competition in the state demonstrates.  But it is important that
our application record include a comprehensive response to
several new issues raised since our Missouri application was
filed.  We would rather the FCC vote on the most current
information available."

In a statement issued late this afternoon, FCC Chairman Michael
K. Powell said, "During the FCC Common Carrier Bureau's review of
SBC's section 271 application for authority to offer long
distance service in Missouri, concerns surfaced related to cost-
based pricing in its region and operation support systems (OSS).
Given these concerns SBC has chosen to withdraw the application."
Mr. Powell said the proceeding was "terminated until such time as
SBC has addressed these issues and is prepared to resubmit its
application."


***************************************************************
LAWMAKERS, POLICY ADVOCATES PITCH BROADBAND SERVICE BILLS

With key votes on broadband services legislation approaching in
the House -- including a possible floor vote on HR 1542 later
this month -- telecom lawmakers and industry officials today made
a new round of policy pitches on the subject.  Their audience was
the more than 100 congressional staffers at today's Internet
Caucus luncheon in the U.S. Capitol.

The luncheon at times seemed like a mini-hearing:  Lawmakers
offered their usual arguments, challenged each other's claims,
and asked those in attendance for support.  In a separate panel
held later, industry representatives drew swords over broadband
services legislation.

Carrying the flag for the Bell companies' bill of choice, the
Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act, HR 1542, were Rep.
W.J. (Billy) Tauzin (R., La.), its author, and Reps. Rick Boucher
(D., Va.), and Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.).  Filling out the
congressional panel were two of the more outspoken skeptics of
the data-relief legislation -- Reps. Steve Largent (R., Okla.)
and Christopher Cannon (R., Utah).

Rep. Largent argued that HR 1542's provision to eliminate the in-
region interLATA (local access and transport area) restrictions
on the Bell companies' provision of data services would remove
the Bells' incentive to open their local markets.  "It's like
changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game," he
said.  "No other industry has that kind of domination by one
entity. . .like the Bells do in the local loop."

Rep. Tauzin fired back, saying the Bell companies were "always in
the middle of a game."  The 14-point market-opening check-list
found in section 271 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 "has
become 1,100 points," he said.  "And the FCC has gummed things up
so badly, that AT&T [Corp.] can sit there beautifully and stymie
entry" into the cable modem market, he said.

HR 1542 would correct that discrepancy and spur competition by
putting the Bells' provision of advanced services on equal
regulatory footing with the broadband offerings of cable TV
providers, said Reps. Boucher and Tauzin.  "But AT&T loves the
status quo so much. . .that's why they've spent all this money on
TV ads opposing" HR 1542, Rep. Tauzin said.  There is a "good
chance" that HR 1542 will be taken up on the House floor before
the July 4 break, he said.

Rep. Cannon, who advocates a different approach to spurring
advanced service deployment, said AT&T Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer C. Michael Armstrong told him yesterday that
Congress's consideration of HR 1542 has contributed to Wall
Street's sour outlook on the competitive local exchange carrier
(CLEC) industry.

"Mr. Armstrong said he had no interest in buying a [CLEC] as long
as HR 1542 is out there," Rep. Cannon said.  "I don't agree that
those companies are failing because of bad business plans," he
added.  "The Bells have blocked their access" to local markets.

During the industry panel, HR 1542's provision to scale back the
FCC's rules on "line sharing" sparked debate between Larry
Clinton, vice president-large company affairs for the U.S.
Telecom Association, and Thomas Koutsky, VP-law and public policy
for Z-Tel Technologies, Inc.

"If you want competition for local phone service, you don't want
line sharing," Mr. Clinton told attendees.  But Mr. Koutsky said
"the point of line sharing and unbundling was to provide rings
for CLECs to climb into the market."  Passage of HR 1542 would
remove those market-access elements, he said.


***************************************************************
CARRIERS ASK WIRELESS BUREAU TO RETHINK `E911' DECISION

Four carriers have asked the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau to reconsider its decision regarding who should pay for
Phase I enhanced "911" (E911) systems.  In a May 7 letter, bureau
Chief Thomas J. Sugrue said the 911 selective router maintained
by incumbent local exchange carriers was the proper demarcation
point for allocating E911 implementation costs between wireless
carriers and public safety answering points (PSAPs) (TR, May 14).
Mr. Sugrue was responding to a request for clarification from the
King County, Wash., E911 program (TR, Aug. 21, 2000).

The bureau's decision supported the PSAPs' argument regarding the
demarcation point.  Carriers, on the other hand, had maintained
that PSAPs should be responsible for E911 network components or
upgrades beginning at the wireless carrier's mobile switching
center, not the 911 selective router.

In a petition filed yesterday in Common Carrier docket 94-102,
Qwest Wireless LLC, Verizon Wireless, VoiceStream Wireless Corp.,
and Nextel Communications, Inc., said the bureau's decision "is
inconsistent with the Commission's rules and underlying orders
and is beyond the bureau's delegated authority."  They asked the
bureau to designate the mobile switching center as the
demarcation point.

The carriers charged that the bureau failed to follow the Ad-
ministrative Procedure Act's mandate that it consider and respond
to "significant" comments filed in the record of the proceeding.
The companies also said the bureau's decision required a formal
rulemaking by the full Commission.


***************************************************************
MCI SHARES BEGIN TRADING AGAIN, AS WorldCom ISSUES TRACKING STOCK

WorldCom, Inc., has split each share of its common stock into two
tracking stocks, one of which will reflect the performance of the
unit that provides long distance service to consumers and small
businesses.  WorldCom is calling that unit the MCI Group because
WorldCom acquired most of that business when it bought MCI
Communications Corp.  The MCI Group also includes WorldCom's
wireless messaging and dial-up Internet access operations.

The other tracking stock will reflect the performance of the
WorldCom Group, which includes the company's high-growth data,
Internet, international, and commercial voice businesses.  Each
existing WorldCom share has been converted into one WorldCom
Group tracking share and 1/25 of an MCI Group tracking share.

Bernard J. Ebbers, WorldCom's president and chief executive
officer, has been talking for nearly a year about separating the
slow-growing consumer long distance business from the faster-
growing WorldCom operations (TR, July 31, 2000).  The split was
approved today at a shareholders meeting in Clinton, Miss.

The two tracking stocks will provide "two distinct, clear, and
compelling investment opportunities," Mr. Ebbers said.  The MCI
Group stock will pay a quarterly dividend of 60 cents per share;
WorldCom shares won't pay a dividend.  The new shares will begin
trading tomorrow on the Nasdaq stock market.


***************************************************************
AT&T COMPLETES CABLE MODEM `OPEN-ACCESS' TRIAL

AT&T Broadband today said it had completed a six-month trial in
Boulder, Colo., that allowed multiple Internet service providers
(ISPs) to offer high-speed access over AT&T's cable modem
platform.  The company said it was "on schedule" to offer
consumers their choice of cable modem ISPs by mid-2002.

AT&T Broadband said more than 300 end-users and four ISPs
participated in the trial, which cost about $20 million.  The
Boulder trial will be extended for two months in a limited area
to continue evaluating the "service agent" software.  Customers
use that software to register for and connect to an ISP.

AT&T also plans to continue testing billing and customer-care
features before launching a limited commercial program in
Massachusetts that will let customers choose their cable modem
ISP.  That launch is slated for later this year.


***************************************************************
NEWS IN BRIEF

The FCC has named Marlene H. Dortch acting director of its Office
of Communications Business Opportunities.  She was chief of the
equal employment opportunity staff in the FCC's Mass Media
Bureau....

Barbara S. Esbin will join the FCC as associate chief of the
Cable Services Bureau, effective July 15.  She has been a partner
in the law firm of Dow, Lohnes & Albertson.  In the 1990s she
held various positions in the Cable Services, Wireless
Telecommunications, and Common Carrier bureaus....

The Vermont Senate has confirmed the appointment of John D. Burke
to a full six-year term on the Vermont Public Service Board.  He
has been serving the remainder of former Commissioner Suzanne
Rude's term since December 2000....

Andre Dahan has been named president and chief executive officer
of AT&T Wireless's new Mobile Multimedia Services subsidiary.
AT&T Wireless and NTT DoCoMo are sharing technical resources and
support for the new subsidiary based in Redmond, Wash.  Mr. Dahan
was president of Dun & Bradstreet North America....

Eddie Edwards has been named executive vice president-strategic
development and president-wireless products group at CommScope,
Inc.  He was president of Alcatel's Radio Frequency Systems
subsidiary.  He is a past president of the Telecommunications
Industry Association.  CommScope, of Hickory, N.C., makes cable
TV and telecom equipment....

Donald Ochoa has been named vice president-sales (Western region)
at Carrier Access Corp.  He was VP-sales (Western region) at
InfoLibria.  Prior to that, he was director-worldwide business
development at 3Com Corp.  Carrier Access is a telecom equipment
manufacturer based in Boulder, Colo....

Steve Wilson has joined GlobalNet, Inc., as vice president-sales
and marketing.  He was head of the international wholesale
division at CapRock Communications Corp.  GlobalNet is a telecom
service provider based in Lombard, Ill....

Decker Anstrom has been elected to the board of Comcast Corp.  He
is president and chief executive officer at The Weather Channel.
He was president of the National Cable Television Association....

Core Communications, Inc., (CoreTel) today asked the U.S. Court
of Appeals in Washington to stay the FCC's order overhauling
rules regarding "reciprocal compensation" for dial-up calls to
Internet service providers.  CoreTel also has asked the FCC for a
stay, but the agency hasn't acted on the petition....

A Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court judge today set deadlines for
filing responses and replies to a proposed settlement agreement
in a class-action lawsuit against the mobile phone industry.  The
judge scheduled a hearing for July 3 on the settlement agreement
between Wireless Technology Research LLC and plaintiffs who filed
the lawsuit in 1995.  WTR had conducted a multi-year industry-
funded initiative on the health effects of mobile phone use.
Under the agreement, $250,000 will be set aside to fund a
voluntary, surveillance registry to study the connection between
mobile phone use and illnesses....

CT Communications, Inc., said it had acquired a portion of
Cingular Wireless LLC's network in North Carolina.  Under the
transaction, which is worth about $25 million, CTC has acquired
47 cell sites covering 14,000 subscribers and a license for
spectrum covering a population of 450,000 north of Charlotte....

The International Trade Administration is sponsoring a trade
mission to Southeast Asia from July 31-August 9.  The mission is
open to U.S. companies interested in information technology and
e-commerce business opportunities in Vietnam, Malaysia, and the
Phillipines.  To obtain a mission statement or more information,
call Ms. Tu-Trang Phan at 202/482-0480....

Glenayre Technologies, Inc., has filed a counterclaim to a patent
and trademark infringement complaint from Research in Motion Ltd.
RIM's complaint, filed at U.S. District Court in Delaware,
alleges that Glenayre infringed on a patent related to its
BlackBerry wireless e-mail device.  Eric Doggett, Glenayre's
president and chief executive officer, called RIM's allegations
"groundless" and said RIM did not identify which Glenayre product
allegedly violated RIM's patent.  Glenayre also asserted
counterclaims of "invalidity, unenforceability, and
noninfringement of the RIM patent"....

PSINet, Inc., has signed a letter of intent to sell its
operations and facilities in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and
Uruguay to an investment group.  The purchase price wasn't
disclosed.  The potential buyers are Cori Capital Partners L.P.
and other investors, including senior members of PSINet's Latin
American management team.  The Ashburn, Va.-based provider of
Internet and network services recently filed for bankruptcy and
announced several asset sales (TR, June 4).


********************************************************
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