Qwest lobs the pricing shoe back at IXCs

As it nears decisions on approval of its Section 271 applications in Arizona and the rest of its 14-state region, Qwest called long-distance companies to the carpet today for recent price hikes and what it sees as a hypocritical stance on competition.

After being accused for years of denying the public the benefits of competition in the form of lower prices, Qwest took the opportunity to admonish AT&T, MCI and Sprint for raising prices on basic rate plans while lobbying to delay what it calls its “re-entry into long distance.

Qwest singled out AT&T by reiterating Democratic Rep. John Dingell’s accusation of price gouging and his call for an investigation in the carrier’s increase in the fee for the universal service fund.

Steve Davis, senior vice president for policy and law at Qwest, said AT&T was “…skimming billions of dollars from unsuspecting customers through price hikes.” He cited an MIT study that indicated residential customers throughout the region would save $70 to $113 annually if Qwest were allowed back into the long distance market.

A report issued December 21st by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, the third-party test administrator for Qwest’s operations support system, said the company is providing non-discriminatory access to its OSS in Arizona. Qwest expects a decision from the Arizona Corporation Commission soon.

The company hopes it will be the same decision Verizon received today. Verizon got approval today from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on its Section 271 application for New Jersey.

While other RBOCs have their own contentious relationships with the IXCs, they refrained from the accusations made by Qwest.

“With respect to long-distance companies trying to keep the incumbent out of long distance, that has been their hallmark since passage of the [Telecommunications] Act in 1996,” said a spokesman for SBC Communications. “AT&T, Sprint and others have worked very hard to keep the Bells out of long distance.”

A spokesman for BellSouth, which recently withdrew its Section 271 applications in Georgia and Louisiana, said, “Qwest has their position, and we have ours, and we are focused on providing ample evidence that we have met the 14-point checklist so we can get into long distance, and we believe that we’re on a good track to do that.”

See Telephony’s Jan. 14 issue for reactions from the IXCs.