FCC should eliminate both unbundled network element platform (UNE...

and FCC that emphasized impact that lessened regulation could have on telecom economy and thus overall economy (CD Sept 13 p8). McCormick said UNE-P pricing structures allowed CLECs to rent network capacity at price below cost to ILEC, which was creating disincentives for both ILECs and CLECs to build new networks. “It’s disingenuous to suggest this is good public policy,” he said. McCormick said FCC had several proceedings through which it could provide relief, including triennial review of UNEs and wireline broadband proceeding. Congress has given USTA lobbying efforts “very favorable response” and McCormick said Breaux-Nickles (S-2430) bill still was option, although UNE-P and TELRIC pricing dominated press conference. Letter circulating in House urging FCC to change UNE-P pricing has 60 signatures, he said. Congress is focusing on 2 issues -- homeland security and economy -- and telecom industry is widely seen by members as potential catalyst for economy, he said. McCormick also admitted some of revenue decline was caused by competition from other services, especially cellphones. However, he emphasized that current regulations made it difficult for Bells to offer packages that would be competitive with cellphones and other competing technologies. He described CLECs that used UNE-P and didn’t invest in new facilities as “parasites that weaken the host.” AT&T and WorldCom aren’t investing in new facilities in many states because it’s cheaper for them to use UNE-P, he said. AT&T spokeswoman replied with question: “If UNE pricing is so low, why aren’t the Bells using it to compete against one another?” USTA campaign sparked wave of comments from CLECs and others that supported current UNE-P and TELRIC structures. Voices for Choices Co-Chmn. Charles Black said: “America’s phone networks are emphatically not the private domain of any one company or group of companies. They were created through decades of enforced monopoly.” Bell companies (Black cited SBC specifically) often run their networks inefficiently and are using campaign to shield themselves from competition, he said. Several organizations criticized notion that Bells lost money on UNE prices. CompTel Pres. Russell Frisby said Bells’ fundamental concern was to retain monopoly-sized revenue. He said U.S. Supreme Court ruling on TELRIC showed FCC pricing was reasonable. McCormick disagreed, saying ruling showed only that Commission had right to set rates, but didn’t address issue of how appropriate current rates were. NARUC spokeswoman said data Bell companies filed with FCC showed they were making “record amounts.” She asked: “If their earnings are truly declining, which they claim they are, then why isn’t that reflected in their filings with the FCC? The problem for the BOCs is that UNE-P loosens their grip on their monopoly hold of the market.”