ILECs, CLECs face off at NARUC

At the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners annual convention in Chicago this morning, a group of representatives from ILECs and CLECs this morning held a round table to discuss the state of relations between their companies. And to no one's surprise, the two sides continued to harp on the UNE-P pricing and availability, with the ILECs arguing for a change and the CLECs supporting the current structure.

Carrie Hightman, president of SBC Ameritech’s Illinois group, stressed a recurring theme at her company, saying that the current UNE-P pricing structure does not allow the Bells to cover their costs.

The pricing policy is hindering the industry’s advancement, added Verizon’s John Dudly. “To get growth you need to change policies in the FCC to incent ILECs and CLECs to invest.”

Representatives of AT&T and WorldCom, which both operate non-facilities-based competitive carriers, responded that competition is only now beginning to take hold, so changing the system could be harmful.

In addition, said Bill Davis of AT&T, allowing UNE-P sales is the first step in creating full competition.

“You need that initial impetus to get into the market and gain a customer base, said Davis.