FCC denies Z-Tel request to extend SBC/Ameritech merger conditions

The FCC today denied a petition filed by Z-Tel Communications that had asked the commission to extend the conditions of the SBC/Ameritech merger. Those conditions had been scheduled to expire today.

Z-Tel had asked for them to be extended pending the outcome of an investigation that would answer whether the SBC/Ameritech had violated certain merger conditions and determine whether the merged company should be allowed to continue its business operations.

According to a Z-Tel spokeswoman, SBC/Ameritech has not met the 14-point checklist used to determine whether incumbents have adequately opened their local voice markets to competitors, has engaged in anti-competitive practices, and that service quality has deteriorated since the merger. She added that SBC/Ameritech also has failed to compete in local voice markets outside of its five-state footprint, which she said was another merger condition.

“We’re disappointed that consumers in this region have been harmed by this merger and that the FCC is not holding SBC accountable for the promises it made,” the spokeswoman said.

James C. Smith, SBC’s senior vice president-FCC, said in a statement that Z-Tel’s petition was a “thinly disguised attempt to block real competition in the local telecommunications marketplace.” He added that SBC has dedicated enormous financial and technical resources to meet “both the spirit and the letter” of the merger agreement.

“The millions of lines now served by competitors throughout the Ameritech region is clear evidence that SBC's local markets are indeed open to competition,” Smith said.