AT&T;, Covad File to Block Bell Atlantic Market Entry

AT&T; Corp. went to court in its battle to block Bell Atlantic Corp. from entering the New York long-distance market, after federal regulators failed to intervene. AT&T; along with Covad Communications Group, a leading player in the data services market, filed a joint motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging a decision by the Federal Communications Commission last week to let Bell Atlantic provide long-distance to its local New York state customers.

That landmark action marked the first time regulators had given a regional Bell company the go-ahead to provide long-distance within their region. Bell Atlantic said it does not expect the motion to change its plan to offer long-distance service beginning Jan. 5. “We prefer to do battle with our competitors in the marketplace as opposed to the courtroom,” said Bell Atlantic spokeswoman Susan Butta. But AT&T; is asking the court to stay the FCC action while it is appealed. AT&T; contends that Bell Atlantic failed to clear several key federal regulatory hurdles required before it can enter the $8-billion-a-year long-distance market in New York. Both Covad and AT&T;, which lease portions of Bell Atlantic’s network to offer their services in New York, said they are not being allowed equal access to the company’s facilities. AT&T; and Covad also said the FCC, in its eagerness to let a Bell company into long-distance, “went through extraordinary contortions to ignore or excuse Bell Atlantic’s failure to satisfy the statutory prerequisites.” AT&T; had asked the FCC to stay its own decision, but Monday night, the commission said it would not do so.