SBC: We’ll honor current line-sharing agreements

SBC Communications today announced it would continue to provide line sharing under existing terms to its wholesale customers, despite a recent court decision that vacated the FCC’s line sharing and local competition rules. The carrier said it is the first Bell company to make such an assurance.

SBC President William Daley said in a statement the carrier is taking the action to “eliminate any uncertainty” facing competitors in its 13-state region.

“We hope this policy will show our wholesale customers that SBC is serious about fostering a positive business climate during this transition period and beyond,” Daley said. “The wholesale market is important to SBC, and we want the best relationships possible with those customers.”

In its May 24 ruling that remanded the FCC’s line-sharing order, the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, criticized the commission for failing to consider the relevance of competition coming from cable and, to a lesser extent, satellite. The line-sharing order required the unbundling of the high frequency spectrum of the copper loop in order to make it possible for competitive carriers to provide DSL service.

--Glenn Bischoff, Senior Writer