The
proposed MCI/Sprint merger could connect you to higher phone bills. The FCC
hopes competition will pick up, but so far the line is still busy.
By
Tom
Woodruff
Cheap long-distance phone rates could be in danger
of extinction.
At least that's what critics fear with the
proposed merger of MCI WorldCom (WCOM, ) and
Sprint , coming
on the heels of several other telecommunication mergers. And the critics are
taking their fears to Capitol Hill, where it appears they've got a
sympathetic ear, starting with the head of the Federal Communications
Commission, who's expressed skepticism over a combined Sprint/MCI.
When Congress passed the 1996 Telecommunications
Act, it was trumpeted as the beginning of increased competition, with
long-distance providers offering local service, while the Baby Bells started
going toe-to-toe with AT&T and the gang. Similarly, the 1992 Cable
Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act was going to drive down
cable company rates as more companies started competing.
It hasn't worked out that way.
Local competition? Not yet
Local phone bills have become so complicated,
costly and lengthy that
SBC Communications' (SBC,)
Southern New England Telephone started sending out its local phone bills
last month in oversized envelopes because the information was so copious.
There are now only four Baby Bells instead of eight. Meanwhile, the cable
companies has become more concentrated and rates have risen.
And local competition hasn't happened yet. Baby
Bell companies have fought the introduction in the courts, even as they reduced their
number by 50%. The surviving Bells are SBC-Ameritech, Bell Atlantic
(BEL,), BellSouth (BLS) and U S West.
