AT&T enters local market in Arizona, Minnesota

AT&T announced that it would begin to provide local telephone service in Arizona and Minnesota, the first states in which it will compete head-to-head with Qwest Communications. With these two states, AT&T now offers residential service in 15 states.

AT&T said it would offer a variety of local and long-distance plans, including one plan for $29.95 per month that offers unlimited local calling, a choice of three features – from a list that includes Caller ID, Call Waiting, 3-Way Calling, Call Return, Call Forwarding, Repeat Dialing and Speed Dial 30 – a bundled bill and a single number to call for all customer service needs.

Earlier this month, AT&T said it would expand its One Rate bundle to 35 states as a result of the FCC’s Triennial Review order, which kept the unbundled network element platform in place pending the review of state utility commissions. AT&T relies heavily on UNE-P to provide the local service it includes in its One Rate and All in One bundles.

“We are making this commitment because both the Federal Communications Commission and the states’ regulatory commissions decided to stick to the intent of the Telecommunications Act,” Kevin Crull, senior vice president of AT&T Consumer, said in a statement.

A Qwest spokesman indicated the RBOC isn’t concerned about AT&T’s incursion upon its turf.

“We welcome AT&T into the market even though they’re a bit late getting into the game,” said spokesman Jeff Mirasola. “AT&T is reselling Qwest local service–they’re not investing in the network and they’re not bringing anything new to the marketplace. We think that our customers will find our service and packages superior to anything AT&T or any other competitor offers.”