The Rules - Regionwide OSS Test Exceeds Expectations

Posted 06/2000

Regionwide OSS Test Exceeds Expectations
By Kim Sunderland

First, Bell Atlantic Corp. (www.bell-atl.com) made a lousy showing at meeting back-office goals after beginning to provide long distance in New York. Then, SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) came under scrutiny after filing its revamped application in Texas. With those experiences still fresh on their minds, it's no wonder CLECs and regulators are playing it safe.

Just as over-protective parents smother their child, intense scrutiny is being applied by CLECs and regulators involved in the first regionwide OSS testing of a BOC. Specifically, the plan involves testing CLECs' access to US WEST Inc.'s (www.uswest.com) OSS to expedite the Section 271 approval process.

"The states are committed to accelerating US WEST's entry into the interLATA long-distance business," Solomon D. Trujillo, chairman, president and CEO of US WEST, wrote in a letter agreeing to the regionwide OSS testing. "US WEST has been working for the last three years to meet the checklist and has expended hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. US WEST will continue its efforts to maintain compliance with the checklist, before and after receiving interLATA relief."

While those are encouraging words, CLECs long have referred to US WEST as 'US Worst' when it comes to leveling the competitive playing field. Many competitors claim the BOC is the hardest to work with and the slowest to catch up with the times.

Largely because of that reputation, 12 CLECs, backed by their lobbying group ALTS (www.alts.org), are staying involved in reviewing US WEST's OSS test plan. The CLECs have sought an adequate opportunity to get educated on US WEST's documentation, as well as to allow them time to resolve any differences over pending disputes with US WEST. The Regional Oversight Committee (www.nrri.ohio-state.edu) handling the collaborative test says the process is working with the CLECs help.

CLECs Working With ROC

* Advanced TelCom Group Inc. (www.callatg.com)
* Allegiance Telecom Inc. (www.allegiancetele.com)
* Covad Communications Co. (www.covad.com)
* Electric Lightwave Inc. (www.eli.com)|
* FirstWorld Communications Inc. (www.firstworld.com)
* GST Telecommunications Inc. (www.gstcorp.com)
* Jato Communications Corp. (www.jatocom.com)
* McLeodUSA Inc. (www.mcleodusa.com)
* New Edge Networks (www.newedgenetworks.com)
* NEXTLINK Communications Inc. (www.nextlink.com)
* NorthPoint Communications Group Inc. (www.northpoint.net)
* Rhythms NetConnections Inc. (www.rhythms.net)

"The ROC OSS collaborative has succeeded beyond what many people had expected when the collaborative was first proposed last year," ROC Chairman Bob Rowe tells X-CHANGE. "We have had excellent, constructive participation from US WEST, and from large and small competitors. If we keep working together like this, the result should be a very high-quality OSS system, developed through an open, efficient process."

Several weeks ago, the ROC devoted half a day of its regularly scheduled meeting to reviewing and discussing the OSS testing, hearing from the U.S. Department of Justice (www.usdoj.gov), the FCC (www.fcc.gov), and state and industry participants in the ROC test. Rowe says as a result of the OSS collaborative's success so far, various states and parties are interested in using multistate approaches to other Sec. 271 issues.

Currently, Rowe says bids for the US WEST test are being evaluated with a selection to come in the near future. The project is scheduled for completion around the end of the year. "The commitment to military style testing--'test until you pass'--means the project will be driven by success, not by the calendar," he says.

Speed Freak

The pending US WEST/Qwest Communications International Inc. (www.qwest.com) merger presented many serious issues for the state commissions to examine in considering this regionwide OSS test. Rowe says, however, that one result of the merger has been to focus US WEST more clearly on opening its local market.

US WEST, in fact, turned up the heat on its in-region long-distance entry, in part to close the deal with Qwest. Federal law requires Qwest to spin off its long-distance operations in all 14 states where US WEST does business for the merger to be considered. Earlier this year, Qwest filed its plan with the FCC to do so.

But by securing in-region long-distance approval now or in the near future, US WEST hopes to keep Qwest from having to exit the long-distance market and starting from scratch, explains Mitchell F. Brecher, a partner with the Washington offices of Greenberg Traurig (www.gtlaw.com). "If I were Qwest," Brecher says, "why would I want to give up my entire long-distance market share in a 14-state region and then have to go back and start all over again?"

Attempting to obtain in-region interLATA approval quickly, US WEST has Sec. 271 applications pending at all the state commissions in its region.

Once the third-party OSS tests are approved, each state then is in a position to quickly support US WEST's long-distance applications with the FCC, says David Fish, executive director of strategic communications in US WEST's Washington office.

"The collaborative OSS process is going well," Fish says. "The third-party tester will be identified within several weeks, and we're on our way to meeting our goal--providing customers with an integrated bundle of services."

This process, Fish adds, constitutes the most complete audit of US WEST's business in history--"not just the interface, but hundreds of performance measurements. The ROC and the numerous collaborators deserve much credit for this unique process," he says.

Seeking Perfection

The FCC likely hopes to avoid what occurred in New York with this testing strategy, where Bell Atlantic agreed in early March to pay up to $27 million in fines and restitution for backsliding on its Sec. 271 approval in that state.

The number of competitor complaints and the size of the agreed-upon penalty have led industry analysts to speculate the authority granted to Bell Atlantic was premature, says Dena Alo-Colbeck, director of public policy at Miller Isar (www.millerisar.com), a regulatory consultancy. The FCC intends to be meticulous in its evaluation of BOC 271 applications, and such filings also must sustain rigorous state utility commission reviews.

SBC is aware of this, and re-filed an enhanced Sec. 271 application for Texas earlier this year. The move restarts the clock on the company's application, giving the FCC until July to rule on it. The FCC finished compiling its record on the application in May.

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