Judge Harold Greene has ruled that Ameritech and Bell Atlantic Corp may provide an international long-distance service between the US and New Zealand through Telecom Corp of New Zealand. The two Baby Bells bought control of the state-owned New Zealand company in June (CI No 1,447) and immediately asked for the decree preventing them from carrying long distance calls to be waived. Judge Greene has has now given the Baby Bells permission to own minority stakes in international satellite and undersea cables. This follows and supports a previous ruling which stopped Nynex from taking a 50% stake in PTAT-1. The concession means that Ameritech and Bell Atlantic can’t own more than 10% of undersea cables or international satellite systems; nor can Telecom provide long distance services in the US or own international facilities. Furthermore, the two Bells are not allowed to market Telecom’s international service in the US or interconnect the New Zeal and national phone company with their domestic net works in the US. Ensuring that the Baby Bells cannot use this ruling as a precedent, Judge Greene said that it was not to be considered a blanket waiver, and future requests will not be blindly granted.
