Focal, BellSouth sign interconnect agreement

(Telephony) Focal Communications and BellSouth formed a multi-year interconnection agreement under which the two companies will exchange traffic across the Southeast region. According to the agreement, Focal will also have the ability to originate and terminate traffic across the region.

Prior to this region-wide agreement, Focal had an existing agreement in just one state--Georgia--within the BellSouth region, according to Dave Tatak, Focal’s director of regulatory affairs. “This is the first region-wide agreement,” said Tatak.

Whereas the company would have had to previously negotiate separate agreements for each state, thanks to the new partnership, “We were able to knock off nine states with a single agreement that spans the region,” he said. “It provides uniformity and takes away uncertainly for the short-term.”

RBOCs are beginning to be more open to regional deals because of the benefits in administrating one regional deal as opposed to many separate agreements for each state, said Tatak. “Some Bell companies have learned that it’s not bad to initiate a single agreement,” he said. “Why should they have nine negotiators working for the same outcome?”

Focal plans to pursue additional region-wide agreements with other RBOCs and the large independent telcos as well, added Tatak.