BellSouth No Longer to Offer DSL to Non-Phone-Service Customers
Posted on: Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 15:00 CDT
Aug. 17--BellSouth won a victory Tuesday as state regulators conceded the company no longer has to offer high-speed Internet service to customers who don't use its local phone service.
An announcement by the Georgia Public Service Commission appears to end a saga that dates to April 2002, when rivals MCI and ITC DeltaCom filed complaints claiming BellSouth wrongly required customers to sign up for local service to get a digital subscriber line, or DSL.
In October 2003, the PSC agreed, freeing customers to choose a different local phone offering. Federal court and regulatory rulings, however, later sided with BellSouth. On Tuesday, the PSC approved a settlement that officially clears BellSouth to forcibly bundle local phone service and DSL.
"We are extremely pleased the PSC has complied with the federal decisions," said BellSouth spokeswoman LeAnn Boucher.
The settlement means thousands of Georgians may have to rethink their services. Boucher said the company estimates 5,000 customers have a combination of non-BellSouth local phone service and BellSouth DSL.
According to the PSC, BellSouth must keep serving these customers through March 11, 2006.
In the months ahead, they'll get letters explaining they could lose their service if they don't switch providers.
The settlement adds to a list of regulatory wins for BellSouth. The Federal Communications Commission recently ruled that Ma Bell offshoots like BellSouth no longer will be required to lease lines to competitors who want to provide DSL service.
State lawmakers are considering what role, if any, the PSC should have in regulating broadband, wireless and other growing services.
BellSouth opposes regulations.
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Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
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