Bell Atlantic Corp has long been proclaiming it will be the first carrier to win the right to offer long-distance services so far with little evidence to back up its claims. Now the company says it is almost ready to file with New York regulators to allow it to offer long-distance phone service from the state. We’re prepared to file in New York very soon, said Bell Atlantic Chairman Ray Smith adding that the carrier expects to ask the Federal Communications Commission for approval by the end of the year. When the carrier completed its merger with Nynex Corp, Smith said that the company would be offering its 26 million customers long-distance services by the middle of next year – almost a year behind the companies originally planned entrance into the long- distance market. We’ve got the most to gain by getting into long distance, Smith said, referring to the large volume of phone traffic that originates and terminates in New York City. According to Bell Atlantic, its customer base accounts for 50% of all the international calls started in the US and the regional long distance market alone is a $20bn market, with 45% of all US long distance calls made within its 13 states and Washington DC. Bell Atlantic already presented the FCC with a ten point list that would give competitors entering its telecoms region formal expectations from the incumbent carrier as well as the ability to have complaints dealt with directly by the FCC.
