SBC launches long-distance in the Midwest

SBC Communications today began offering long-distance service in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio, nine days after receiving Federal Communications Commission permission to do so.

The carrier unveiled a variety of bundled plans. The residential offering is led by the All Distance bundle that provides unlimited local and domestic direct-dialed long-distance, as well as caller ID and voice mail, for an introductory rate of $43.95 per month. The rate jumps to $48.95 per month, which is identical to the fee charged by chief rival AT&T for its One Rate USA plan.

SBC also is offering per-minute plans at an introductory rate of 5 cents per minute, as well as block-of-minutes plans ranging from $2 per month for 60 minutes to $10 per month for 500 minutes. Other plans provide unlimited domestic long-distance for the flat rate of $20 per month.

The RBOC is offering several plans for business customers tailored to their call volumes. Small businesses can choose a 3.6 cents-per-minute plan with a one-year term and a monthly minimum. High-volume customers can choose from plans that offer rates as low as 2.5 cents per minute for switched access and 1.9 cents per minute for dedicated access. In addition, the Business Unlimited Long-Distance Plan provides unlimited state-to-state and in-state direct-dialed calls for $20 per month with a one-year term and qualifying local service plan. Businesses that do significant international business are able to choose from plans tailored to their needs, including plans targeted to Canada, Mexico and the Middle East.

SBC Illinois President Carrie Hightman, speaking this week at a Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce luncheon, said long-distance competition in her state was "sorely needed" and already is benefiting consumers.

"I saw that AT&T is offering some of its customers a few incentives not to switch providers," Hightman said. "This is not a coincidence. It’s a direct result of our entry into the long-distance market."

Hightman used the forum to remind attendees that long-distance is just one of the key regulatory battles the RBOC has been fighting. She referenced the legal battle over the controversial wholesale rate-hike law enacted by the Illinois legislature and further reminded that the state’s wholesale rates "are the lowest in the country and much lower than our cost." She said she remained hopeful that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit would overturn the permanent injunction granted by a federal district judge that prevents enforcement of the law.

"I’m optimistic, in light of our arguments and what the law requires, that there will be some change," Hightman said. SBC has argued that the 1996 Telecommunications Act does not specifically preclude the involvement of a state legislature in a rate-setting proceeding. Competitive carriers have argued that rate setting is the province of state utility commissions, which receive such authority from the FCC, which was given wide latitude by Congress to interpret and implement the act, authority that has been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. They also have argued that since the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution requires that federal law preempt state law, the Telecom Act would take precedence over the Illinois law.

Regardless of the outcome, Hightman said SBC is prepared to move forward. "This is too big an issue to not get it resolved at some level, in some way, by the appropriate policy-makers."