CLEC Battle Moves from Balance Sheet to FCC

Posted: 7/2003

CLEC Battle Moves from Balance Sheet to FCC

By Josh Long

The battle the competitive industry faces has shifted from the balance sheet to state capitols, public utility commissions and the 8th floor of the Federal Communications Commission.

At the ASCENT 2003 Spring Conference and Networking Center in mid-May, staff members called upon members to continue the fight before lawmakers and regulators. The industry is under attack. Every company needs to protect its legal right to serve customers, says Andrew Isar, who lobbies on behalf of ASCENT members. We have witnessed the successes when smaller companies get involved and we need to see more of that.

In lieu of the dramatic changes in the competitive industry over the last three years, one of the fundamental roles of ASCENT  and its conventions  remains constant: unite various companies to apprise them of the latest technological, regulatory and legislative developments and rally support for a cohesive voice before the halls of Congress, state legislatures and the FCC.

J. Edward Pearce, vice president of alternate channels with LDMI Telecommunications, said one pervasive thought on attendees minds is the volatile regulatory environment.

Case in point: Pearce mentioned a new law in Illinois. The bill, which moved swiftly through the Illinois legislature, requires the state regulator to recalculate the wholesale phone rates SBC Communications Inc. can charge rivals. (Editors Note: Chief Judge Charles Kocoras of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Chicago, blocked the measure from going into effect June 9.)

Another hot topic was the potential merger of ASCENT with rival and sometimes partner organization, the Competitive Telecommunications Assocation (CompTel). During the show, the combination was little more than buzz as officials of both groups declined to comment on the record about talks between them at the conference. Later, in a joint statement, the associations confirmed their exploratory discussions.

Committees have been formed by both organizations to perform due diligence and make recommendations to their respective boards. Should the boards decide to move forward, the members of both associations will be asked to vote on a merger proposal, the statement read.

Why join forces, and why do it now? Synergy is the simple answer, said H. Russell Frisby Jr., president of CompTel. The merger of CompTel and ASCENT would maximize the strengths of both organizations, benefiting the entire membership base by consolidating overall costs and allowing us to channel our funds into developing stronger programs, products and services to benefit the entire competitive telecommunications industry.

Combining our talents under a single banner would be an enormously positive step and a landmark event for the competitive carrier community, added Walt Blackwell, president of ASCENT. We complement each other so well. CompTel, for example, has one of the most effective lobbying programs of any telecom association in Washington. And ASCENT business solutions, education programs and trade shows are among the best in the industry.

Meantime, it was business as usual on the trade show floor as buyers and sellers converged. David Gusky, executive vice president of ASCENT, says the association expected between 1,300 and 1,500 attendees. There were 85 exhibitors.

Some attendees say the reason for attending the convention is the same as always: to network, stay informed on the latest developments and enter business relationships.

Edward F. Kilb, vice president of operations and secretary with CLEC Data Net Systems, says there is still a pretty good mix of companies supporting the show. Kilb, who was attending the show as a buyer, found many of the companys vendors by walking the show floor in recent years. He says the change in the shows exhibitors, from giants like AT&T Corp. and WorldCom Inc. to smaller carriers, has been helpful to Data Net Systems because exhibitors are more willing to enter business arrangements with a company his size.

So far, he says, we have found it was worth our while to spend our money attending ASCENT.

ASCENT Names New Officers

The Association of Communications Enterprises (ASCENT) elected a new slate of officers during its spring conference. The association also filled two vacancies on its board of directors as a result of the resignations of its chairman Gordon Martin, formerly executive vice president of wholesale for Qwest Communications International Inc., and Shirish Lal of Ionex Telecom, which was acquired by Birch Telecom this spring.

Ron Harden, executive vice president of network services for Grande Communications, moves into the position of chairman after having served as its vice chairman. The new ASCENT vice chair is Gail Jones, vice president and general manager of ComoreTel. Completing the slate of officers is the new secretary/treasurer, Joseph Gregori, CEO of InfoHighway Communications Corporation. Gregori also serves as the Regional Advisory Council liaison to the board.

Filling the remaining two vacancies on the board are Joseph Leuci and Dave Thomas. Leuci is the senior vice president of sales and marketing for FiberNet Telecom Group Inc. Thomas is director of carrier relations for MCI.

Other board members include William Capraro Jr., CIMCO Communications Inc.; Ron Contrado, Homisco/Voicenet; Thomas M. Coughlin, Alliance Group Services; Robert Hale Sr., Granite Communications; J. Sherman Henderson, Lightyear; and Judy Reed Smith, Atlantic- ACM. Reed Smith serves as the Supplier Advisory Council liaison to the board.

ATLANTIC-ACM Honors Wholesale Excellence

Research firm ATLANTIC-ACM today presented awards for wholesale excellence in the U.S. and global carrier categories at the ASCENT conferences opening ceremony.

CEO Dr. Judy Reed Smith and Taher Bouzayen, ATLANTIC-ACM vice president and analyst covering the long-distance wholesale sector made the presentations, which were based on the 2003 edition of ATLANTIC-ACMs Long Distance Wholesale Carrier Report Card and The Global Wholesale Report Card. The report, now in its fifth edition, was derived from nearly 600 rankings of wholesale carriers performance by their resale customers.

Award winners included:

• Billing: WilTel Communications LLC took top U.S. Carrier honors for billing excellence and iBasis Inc. took top global carrier honors.
• Customer Service: WilTel and iBasis also took top honors for customer service superiority among U.S. and global carriers, respectively.
• Network: The award for network quality and availability was delivered to AT&T Corp. WilTel earned the U.S. network award.
• Pricing: Global Crossing Ltd. took top honors in the U.S. Carrier Pricing appeal category. ITXC was ranked best among global carriers.
• Products: AT&T won both the U.S. and global carrier for product excellence.
• Provisioning: Qwest Communications International Inc. ranked highest for provisioning speed, interface/support systems and SLAs among U.S. carriers. iBasis topped global carrier rankings.