Qwest readies long-distance submissions

By Michael Martin
Network World, 06/10/02

Qwest officials say the regional Bell operating company is on the verge of winning regulatory approval to offer long-distance services in several of its home states, letting it better serve large businesses whose long-distance needs span the U.S.

However, Qwest may not be as close to long-distance approval as company officials are making it appear.

"It's going to be a long way down the road before businesses will be able to go to Qwest for a national service," says David Rohde, a senior analyst with TechCaliber.

Qwest has yet to win the backing of any state public utility commission (PUC) for its long-distance submissions to the Federal Communications Commission. Winning over the PUCs is a necessary first step to any successful FCC application.

To make matters worse, at least five states are investigating allegations that Qwest gave some competitive carriers preferential access to Qwest's network in return for the competitors' backing of Qwest's long-distance bids. And to top it off, Qwest has missed at least three previous self-imposed FCC submission deadlines.

Qwest is the only RBOC yet to win any long-distance approval from the FCC.

Qwest recently said it would submit applications for five states - Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, Iowa and Idaho - by this week. Eight of the remaining nine states will be submitted this month or next month, with Minnesota slated for a submission in the third quarter, Qwest spokesman Skip Thurman says.

Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, an incumbent local carrier such as Qwest cannot offer long-distance services in its local service territory until it proves it has opened up its network to competitors. Then it can submit an application for long-distance approval to the FCC.

There are a few steps an RBOC must take before submitting an application to the FCC. The first is to pass a 14-point checklist proving that the RBOC's ordering systems can accommodate competitive carriers. Qwest recently issued a statement saying it had passed the 14-point test in 13 states. Qwest already had issued a statement saying it had passed the test in Arizona.

Next, the RBOC must prove to the state PUCs that allowing Qwest into the long-distance market will serve the public interest.

"We have lots of states where we're doing the final wrap-ups," Thurman says.

Rohde says it's unlikely Qwest will offer long-distance services any time soon.

"They've missed many of these deadlines already," he says. "One last summer, one at the end of [last] year and another in April."

Even if Qwest does submit to the FCC, there's no guarantee its applications will be approved. Rohde says more than half of the applications from the other RBOCs so far have been rejected. Those that have been successful came only after the other three RBOCs had learned from previous mistakes and become more familiar with the FCC process, Rohde says.