CLEC Share Surged in 1st Half of 2000.(competitive local phone carriers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Multichannel News, December, 2000 by HEARN, TED

WASHINGTON -- Competitive local phone carriers' market share surged 53 percent in the first half of the year, according to federal data released Monday. But the incumbent phone operators retained a commanding 93-percent grip on the overall market. The Federal Communications Commission said that as of June 30, competitive local-exchange carriers (CLECs) controlled 12.7 million access lines, or 6.7 percent of the 192 million access lines in service.

That compared with 8.3 million lines, or 4.4 percent, at the beginning of the year. Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, local phone companies have continued to retain market-share levels of more than 90 percent, despite the FCC's persistent attempts to pry open monopoly phone markets through...