Bell Atlantic has filed a petition with the FCC asking that the government agency exempt the regional Bell operating company’s planned high-speed broadband network from the current restrictions and resale pricing agreements that apply to Bell Atlantic telecom voice network. Bell Atlantic says it wants to build an internet backbone” to relieve data-traffic congestion in its territory, which stretches from Maine to Virginia. The new network would give the local carrier a high speed internet backbone to challenge those built by companies like IXC Communications Inc, Qwest Communications Inc, Level 3 Communications Inc and WorldCom Inc. The filing asks the FCC to exclude the data network from two areas of telecom regulation and if approved would prove a landmark judgement that would free the RBOCs to start offering long-distance data services before they are allowed to offer similar phone services. Bell Atlantic says it wants the data network to not be subject to long-distance restrictions which prevent the company from offering IntraLATA services that is services linking its 14 east coast telecom regions and secondly that the requirements the company must make parts of its network available to competitors at wholesale prices. In defense of its petition, Bell Atlantic has turned to the letter of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. It cites Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that directs the FCC to take whatever steps are necessary to encourage the deployment of advanced technology. Bell Atlantic recently joined US West Inc and SBC Communications Inc in a case to dismiss the Telecom Act as unconstitutional. Bell Atlantic, says however that it will build the network regardless of whether it gets the regulatory changes made that it is asking for. Should the FCC reject the company’s plea it will be forced to wait until it has been approved to offer long- distance voice services before it can operate the planned network throughout its region. At present Bell Atlantic is forced to offer its internet services over bandwidth it hires from its telecoms rival in the long- distance market. Should the company be cleared for IntraLATA datacoms services there is also the possibility taht this could be used to offer telephony services using IP technology – an expanding market that even AT&T says it will begin trialing in the next quarter. However, Bell Atlantic says there are no plans to use its data networks to circumvent the FCC’s prohibition on it offering long distance and IntraLATA services. Another effect of the petition, if it is successful, will be to aid Bell Atlantic’s hopes to push DSL connections to the internet and the company has recently joined the UADSL industry group. By being excempt from the regulations regarding the planned network, the company would also be freed from any obligation to allow competitors any access to the ADSL local loop network.
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