Louisiana PSC Orders BellSouth to Stop Denying Consumers Choice
CLINTON, Miss., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BACKGROUND: The
Louisiana Public Service Commission today barred BellSouth from withholding
high-speed Internet DSL service to customers that choose a competitor for
voice service. WorldCom and other competing carriers had argued that the
BellSouth practice was anti-competitive because it prevented consumers from
obtaining the voice provider of their choice and was a clear violation of the
federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the Louisiana Commission's
regulations and earlier findings.
The following statement should be attributed to Neal Larsen, WorldCom
Regional Executive for Public Policy:
"This decision is good for Louisiana consumers and represents a positive
step toward forcing BellSouth to live up to its network-sharing obligations
under the 1996 federal Telecommunications Act. With this ruling BellSouth no
longer will be allowed to deny consumers a choice of competing local phone
providers.
"BellSouth's practice of tying together its voice and DSL services was a
bald-faced attempt to perpetuate its monopoly on the voice market in
Louisiana. Now that the Louisiana Commission has rejected BellSouth's latest
ploy to subvert local competition, Louisiana consumers will have more choices
for innovative local phone services."
SOURCE WorldCom
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Related links:
http://www.worldcom.com
CONTACT:
Stefanie Scott of WorldCom, +1-512-495-6730,
+1-800-644-NEWS, or stefanie.scott@wcom.com
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