PULVER SPEAKERS WANT POLICYMAKERS TO STIMULATE COMPETITION
Despite sagging economy, there are ways policymakers could stimulate competition in telecom, if they wanted to, speakers at Pulver.com conference said Mon. For example, they could lessen Bell companies’ alleged reliance on litigation to delay competition, they said. Ex-NTIA Dir. Larry Irving and Allegiance Telecom CEO Royce Holland recommended Congress give FCC power to institute “expedited complaint resolution.” Feuds between telecom providers would be settled through binding arbitration by FCC- appointed experts rather than through appeals to federal courts, Holland said.
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There’s no doubt pro-ILEC attitude is growing in Washington, Irving told audience. Irving, who worked for CLEC until it went out of business, said he had tried to convince policymakers that they should step in but had seen little interest. Terrorist attack Sept. 11 is example of why “competition rather than consolidation” is good idea, he said. After attack, New Yorkers depended on alternative networks such as Internet messaging and cell phone calls to communicate, he said. Where ex-FCC Chmn. Reed Hundt called AT&T-SBC merger “unthinkable,” people now are talking about rumored AT&T-BellSouth merger as “inevitable,” Irving said. Policymakers “have got to start thinking about how to keep competition alive.” Some members of audience criticized conference sponsor for not including ILECs on agenda to defend themselves. One attendee, saying he didn’t represent ILEC, asked if ILEC could be permitted to speak from audience to give broader perspective. However, conference moderator said ILECs would be on program later in conference, which continues today (Tues.).
Speakers such as Irving and Elon Ganor, CEO of Israeli-based VocalTec, said foreign govts. were beginning to wonder whether U.S. was serious when it urged them to open their telecom companies to competition. They said countries such as Germany, which have taken such action, now questioned whether there was comparable competition in the U.S. Irving also suggested that regulators consider reducing subsidies to rural carriers that he said stymied competition in less-populated areas. One possibility would be subsidies that decreased over time to encourage competition, he said.
Holland predicted “if nothing is done to alter the laws” competitors will gain roughly 25% of telecom market in 5 years. For them to have bigger share would require strong action such as structural separation for ILECs, he said. He also recommended beefing up enforcement of FCC market-opening rules by setting higher fines for lack of compliance. One thing that shouldn’t happen is passage of Tauzin-Dingell bill, he said. Competition is flagging because of “tepid” enforcement and “endless litigation,” he said.
Ex-FCC Comr. Susan Ness told audience of 50 that Commission could operate better if there was “major modification” in the Sunshine Law. It’s cumbersome to wrestle with complex legal issues when 5 commissioners never can meet together, she said. While some activities can be done in public, such as fact-finding, lengthy discussions needed to settle such complex issues don’t lend themselves to public meetings, Ness said.