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April 2005
volume ix, number 4
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Client Spotlight | News &
Stuff |
NPA Updates
MCI Again Accepts Verizion's Acquisition Offer
For the second time, MCI's Board of Directors has agreed to be
acquired by Verizon after consideration of a higher offer by Qwest.
However, Qwest again increased it's bid, and MCI has agreed to keep
talking. Qwest's current bid stands at $9 billion.
MCI, seeing Verizon as a stronger company, accepted
Verizon's increased bid of $7.65 billion in late March, over Qwest's offer of $8.45
billion. Qwest then increase its bid, and reportedly may
even be considering a hostile takeover of MCI.
Qwest recently hired a firm that helps contact
shareholders to gain support in takeover battles. Qwest could
potentially try to derail Verizon's acquisition by lobbying
shareholders to vote it down. Or, if enough MCI shareholders sell
their shares to Qwest, the company could wind up in a position to
control MCI, replace its Board, and pressure it to reconsider
Qwest's offer.
Verizon's current deal with MCI gives it the power to
force MCI to have its shareholders vote on the agreement, even
without support of the MCI Board of Directors. There has been no
time frame set for that vote.
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Client Spotlight
Birch Telecom
Reduces Long Distance Billing Errors by 70%
Complaints of
Local Usage Being Billed as Long DistanceReduced from 10 per Day to
2 per Month
Click to read
the whole story
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News &
Stuff
Truth-In-Billing Rules Extended to
Wireless Phones
The FCC recently expanded the 1999 Truth-in-Billing rules, making
them applicable to consumers' wireless phone bills. The decision
came about because consumers were concerned with the billing
practices of wireless and other interstate providers. Specifically,
the Commission:
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Removed the existing exemption for
Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) carriers from the rules
requiring that billing descriptions be brief, clear,
non-misleading and in plain language;
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Held that it is misleading to
represent discretionary line item charges in any manner that
suggests such line items are taxes or government mandated
charges;
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Clarified that the burden rests upon
the carrier to demonstrate that any line item that purports to
recover a specific governmental or regulatory program fee
conforms to the amount authorized by the government to be
collected; and
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Clarified that state regulations
requiring or prohibiting the use of line items for CMRS
constitute rate regulation and are preempted.
For a more detail please visit
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-257319A1.doc
BellSouth Announces New International Long Distance Plans
In early March, BellSouth announced it would
offer new international long distance calling plans featuring lower
rates. BellSouth is rolling out three new plans that carry fees
starting at $1 a month. Customers subscribing to the plans receive
rates that are about 75 percent lower than non-plan rates. For
customers who frequently call internationally, the BellSouth
International Select Value plan and the International Saving plan
may be of interest and provide a great deal of savings as well.
BellSouth Signs 100th Wholesale Agreement
In
March, BellSouth announced it signed it 100th commercial wholesale
agreement with its CLEC customers. The 100 agreements cover more
than 530,000 access lines served by CLECs in BellSouth's region. Rex
Adams, BellSouth's President of Interconnection Services said, "The
end of government-managed pricing, and the signing of commercial
agreements with CLECs, brings much needed stability to the
competitive telecommunications industry."
Michigan PSC Starts Collaborative Process on Wholesale UNEs by
SBC and Verizon
In
late February, the MPSC issued an order to begin a collaborative
process on wholesale unbundled network elements by SBC and Verizon.
The order was in response to a filing by SBC in early February which
stated it would withdraw its wholesale UNE tariffs in early March.
Various
CLECs filed objections, arguing that SBC has no right to change its
wholesale tariffs. SBC countered that its filing is consistent with
the FCC's February 4th order on unbundling obligations of incumbent
local exchange carriers.
The MPSC
found merit in the CLEC's complaints and started the collaborative
process. When the process ends a true-up proceeding will occur and
rates will be adjusted retroactively to March 11, 2005.
AT&T Ordered to Pay Fees on Prepaid Phone Cards
The FCC ruled that AT&T illegally avoided paying as much as $500
million in government and other fees on prepaid long-distance
calling cards in late February.
AT&T
claimed that since consumers had to listen to advertisements before
their calls were placed, the calls were no longer classified as a
regulated telecommunications service and therefore are not subject
to the fees. However, the FCC ordered AT&T and any other company who
uses advertisements with their prepaid calling cards to recalculate
and pay whatever is owed to the government's universal service fund.
AT&T
recently released financial filings that show it avoided paying $160
million in universal service fees since 1999. In addition, the
company also avoided paying $340 million to local phone companies
for completing AT&T calling card calls within states by first
routing them out of state and then back in. The FCC's ruling enables
those local exchange companies to collect the fees from AT&T. .
President Bush Names Kevin Martin as Next FCC Chairman
In
mid March President Bush announced that Kevin Martin would become
the next FCC Chairman. Martin, already an FCC Commissioner, is best
known for voting to maintain rules that require the Bell companies
to resell their networks to competitors.
Martin
thanked the President and said, "...I look forward to working with the
Administration, Congress, my colleagues, and the FCC's talented
staff to ensure that American consumers continue to enjoy the
benefits of the best communications system in the world... I thank
Chairman Powell for his excellent stewardship of this agency, and I
look forward to continuing his efforts in bringing the
communications industry into the 21st Century."
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NPA Updates
Mississippi Residents in NPA 601
Receive Overlay
On March 14, 2005 residents in central and parts of southern
Mississippi began dialing ten digits for all local calls due to an
overlay placed on their current NPA by the Mississippi PSC.
Implementation of the new 769 NPA will not take effect until all
numbers in the 601 area code have been exhausted.
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