ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701200108
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ST. LOUIS
SOURCE: Associated Press
A federal appeals court was asked Friday to overturn government rules that have pitted local phone companies against long-distance carriers that hope to piggyback on their lines into consumers' homes.
Local phone companies are upset because they say Federal Communications Commission rules force them to give access to competitors, such as AT&T and MCI Communications, at prices below their actual cost.
Judge Pasco Bowman questioned the FCC's decision to not force long-distance carriers to pay a surcharge for accessing another company's network.
Chris Wright, who represented the FCC, said the commission was discussing proposals to help local phone companies recover losses caused by competition.
``It's not clear what the commission will do,'' Wright said. ``I can assure you there's vigorous debate on what should be done.''
Lawyer Bruce Ennis, who represented the long-distance carriers, said his clients must be granted access to the networks of local phone companies at a reduced price if they are to compete for customers.
William Barr, general counsel for GTE Corp., argued for the regional telephone companies and said the FCC overstepped its bounds in determining the rates competitors must pay to use local phone companies' networks. Barr said states should set rates because of differences in population, network configurations and other factors.
The rules remove competitive barriers among telephone, cable and other communication companies. More than a dozen appeals were filed in separate courts but were consolidated in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB