Soap Box: Calling All Agents: This is Your Fight, Too

Posted: 6/2003

Calling All Agents: This is Your Fight, Too

The purpose of this editorial is to share with you SBC Communications Inc.'s latest attempts to eliminate UNE-P, why you as an agent should care and what you can do about it.

Less than a month after the CLECs' victory on UNE-P in the Federal Communications Commission's Triennial Review, SBC, in true monopolistic form, once again is attempting to eliminate UNE-P. Dissatisfied with its broadband victory and "split decision," the local service monopoly is going from state to state introducing legislation intended to deregulate broadband. Why introduce new legislation, when the final FCC order deregulating broadband is still being written? What's the rush? When asked why they do not wait for the order to be finalized, SBC executives claim the language of the FCC order is uncertain and the details could take a while to materialize, impeding their incentive to invest in new broadband services. Either they have tons of money to throw at something they already have been assured of getting, or they have something else up their sleeve. In my view, it's the latter.

In my home state, Illinois, for example, SBC is attempting to eliminate local phone and Internet competition through a piece of anti-consumer legislation, Senate Bill 1518. (This bill is one example; similar ones are being introduced in other states.) SBC is fronting the bill as a measure to spur broadband deployment, but the legislation is really a cleverly disguised attempt to restore the Texas phone giant's monopoly control over phone and high-speed Internet service in Illinois.

Here's how: First, SBC tells lawmakers the bill will act as an incentive to invest in new broadband facilities and add new jobs to the state. Second, it hires as many of the powerful lobbying forces it can. Third, it uses misleading advertising to create the illusion that AT&T Corp. and MCI are the only opponents of the bill. Fourth, it uses those influential forces to spin arguments that bury the truth about the bill. Fifth, it seeks to get the bill passed before the lawmakers truly understand it. Once voted into law, SBC has the makings of a new monopoly.

Oklahoma already fell victim to this game. To quote Sen. Stratton Taylor (D-Okla.), "It is my belief that SBC will say or do anything to get this legislation enacted and would encourage you to keep that in mind as you debate the merits of whether it is good public policy." Since its passage in Oklahoma, broadband deployment has not yet materialized and at least 1,400 telecommunications jobs have been lost in that state. Your state could be next.

In Illinois, SB 1518 is a stealth bomb that could be devastating to UNE-P voice competition. It essentially accomplishes this in two ways. First, it removes the power of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). This is critical because the laws in place now, give the ICC three major powers: to enforce quality standards with fines, to set rates and charges for wholesale UNEs and to act as the arbitrator between SBC and the CLEC. The second thing the bill does is deregulate the network on which broadband services are provided. Herein lays the confusing and tricky part. Referencing "phone lines that have the ability to access the Internet" does not protect CLECs as every phone line in SBCs network is capable of providing access to the Internet. Thus, SBC's entire network would escape regulation. SBC paints the picture as if there exist two separate networks -- one for data and one for voice. Obviously, this is not the case, and by deregulating the network that provides Internet, you would be deregulating the voice network. Consequently, the voice network would no longer be subject to the laws in place to regulate it. As Illinois' Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn emphatically stated, "This bill -- a thinly-veiled, backdoor deregulation of local phone service -- will cost consumers millions, further erode service standards and eliminate accountability."

Here's how to fight. Start early! Find out who your state's competition-friendly organizations are -- typically consumer watchdog or lobbying groups -- and join! In most cases, there is little or no cost to you. These groups as well as national trade associations like ASCENT and CompTel can tell you about pending broadband legislation or other anticompetitive legislation in your state. Call, e-mail, and write all senators, representatives and commissioners telling them the name of the legislation and the devastating effect it can have on competition. Tell them about the people you employ, the customers you help, and the savings and economic benefits the state derives as a result. Most importantly, tell them that it is not just AT&T or MCI, but hundreds and hundreds of CLECs and agents like you who bring competition to their states. They are being pushed and prodded by the ILEC, so you must fight back. (To find out who your state legislators are, visit www.state.IL.us for Illinois, www.state.CA.us for California, etc.)

Don't sit back and expect that someone will do it for you. The FCC has given us the opportunity to preserve UNE-P. It also has given us the responsibility to protect it -- one state at a time. To quote FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin: "I support this item because it achieves a principled, balanced approach. It ensures that we have competition and deregulation. We deregulate broadband, making it easier for companies to invest in new equipment and deploy the high-speed services that consumers desire. We preserve existing competition for local service -- the competition that has enabled millions of consumers to benefit from lower telephone rates. And we continue the strong role of the states in promoting local competition and protecting consumers."

We owe it to ourselves, our customers and the commissioners (Martin, Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein) who defended it to not let it fall apart now.

At press time, we -- the competition -- have not yet defeated SB1518. We have, however, turned the tide and made significant progress. After intense scrutiny and opposition from Illinois consumer advocacy groups such as the Citizens Utility Board, Illinois Citizen Action, Illinois AARP, Consumer Federation of America, the Illinois Coalition for Competitive Telecommunications, the ICC and Lt, Gov. Quinn, SBC buckled under pressure and asked for an extension on the bill. The extension was granted and SBC has since gone back to the drawing board to rewrite the language that hid its real intentions.

To ensure that SBC or another ILEC does not win monopoly control over phone and Internet service, it is imperative that competing ISPs, CLECs and their agents band together with consumers to fight the phone giant. In Illinois, state legislators have been flooded with grassroots outreach via telephone, e-mail and mail by individuals, consumer advocacy groups and competing telecommunications companies, warning of the detrimental effects SB1518 will have on competition and savings. In Illinois we will continue the fight against this legislation until it is resting in a coffin. If SBC or another ILEC has not been pushing a "broadband deregulation" measure through the General Assembly in your state, I urge you to be on the lookout and fight the bill until its death so that companies such as yours and mine can survive.

If you think, as an agent, it's not your responsibility, think again. Like the CLECs, your company's future may be riding on it. As foreign as regulatory issues and legal processes may seem, they are a fact of life in a regulated industry. Until we have multiple suppliers and real, market-based supplier relationships, this will continue to be the case. So for now, look at this as a challenge and a chance to make a difference.

Lance C. Honea is CEO of Access One Inc., a competitive provider based in Chicago. He can be reached at LanceH@accessoneinc.com