COMPETITION

LCI bugs out of local service talks Long-distance provider LCI International bowed out of talks to become a local service provider last week, cutting off negotiations with the Bell companies, GTE, Cincinnati Bell and Sprint. LCI still has ambitious plans to offer local service, but the carrier had to sever ties now to protect its future rights to arbitration, LCI spokespeople said.

Under the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996, long-distance providers have 135 to 160 days to reach an agreement before requesting arbitration.

LCI said the local providers either did not provide technical and pricing information or lagged so far behind in relaying the information that company officials believed they did not have time to prepare for mediation. "We were facing having to go into arbitration mode and we didn't have enough information on which to base any arbitration," a spokeswoman said. "This is in no way an indication that we have slowed down our efforts to provide local service. In fact, this is an effort for us to defend our position."

LCI initiated contact with the LECs in March but then said that even after repeated requests, it had to wait 80 to 110 days before many of the providers would even consent to a first meeting. For example, LCI never met or talked with GTE, a spokeswoman said.

A GTE spokeswoman said the carrier is negotiating with more than 40 companies and is dealing with all of them in good faith. "We have tried to sit down with everyone who has approached us," she said. The company also is double-checking records to find out what happened with LCI.

"I think there is a lot of confusion on the part of the LECs in interpreting the Telecommunications Act," a second LCI spokesman said. "For instance, one of them thought the clock [of 160 days] didn't start until the first face-to-face meeting. Some were particularly diligent in getting information to us and others were not."

In the cases of BellSouth, Ameritech and Sprint, the decision to withdraw from talks was mutual.