IXCs pinpoint local territory targets

Interexchange carriers initiated strategic moves last week to gain market recognition in targeted states with reduced pricing plans.

AT&T is offering three free months of unlimited local toll service to customers in Illinois who sign up with the IXC by June 30. The offer applies to calls that are more than 15 miles outside of a customer's calling area.

Ameritech sees this as just another play on words and pricing, said a spokesman for the Bell company. Customers do not want complicated pricing plans, the spokesman said.

AT&T also filed a joint proposal last week with MCI, Sprint, McCaw Communications and two Florida telecom groups to reduce the price of in-state long-distance telephone calls. The coalition filed the petition with Florida's Public Service Commission.

The head of the local exchange carriers' professional group last week warned that the IXCs are signaling they will target specific market segments, typically those that are more lucrative.

The IXCs should not look at the "nation's local telephone network as a Christmas turkey, picking off the parts they want," said Roy Neel, president and chief executive officer of the United States Telephone Association, at a press briefing last week in Washington, D.C.