Prying open local phone market;MCI, others nibble at ringleader Baby Bell while they can.(Brief Article)

Crain's New York Business, October, 1999 by traster, tina

Esther Kaplan, president of The Corcoran Group, is letting her fingers do the walking. Dissatisfied with Bell Atlantic Corp., she is in search of a company that can cut the real estate firm's $650,000 annual phone bill by at least 15% and offer better service. Ms. Kaplan is in luck; this is a buyer's market.

In the wake of telecommunications deregulation, dozens of telecom providers are clamoring to serve the $5 billion New York market for local service. The competition is driving down prices and making a dent in Bell Atlantic's monopoly. MCI WorldCom Inc. has more than 160,000 customers, and upstart Broadview Networks Inc. of Long Island City, Queens, claims some 30,000. Even AT&T Corp., which delayed its entry into the New York market for more than a...

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