Bell Atlantic Corp - Company Business and Marketing - Brief Article

CommunicationsWeek International, Nov 15, 1999

Bell Atlantic Corp. failed to convince the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) that it should be allowed into the long-distance market in its home state of New York, despite a long campaign to demonstrate improved behavior towards competitors. The DoJ said the regional Bell company had failed to provide adequate access to unbundled local loops.

Assistant Attorney General in charge of the antitrust division, Joel Klein, said the remaining obstacles were few, "but those problems cannot be ignored and must be resolved if we want consumers to receive the full benefits of competition." The DoJ advised the FCC either to deny Bell Atlantic's application outright or grant it on condition that it is banned from offering inter-LATA services (between carrier service areas) until it meets necessary requirements.