January 23, 2002 -- Concise performance measurements combined with swift and certain penalties for poor performance is the most effective way to deter Bell companies from discriminating against competitive providers in the provision of special access, the Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel) told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today.

In comments filed regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Performance Measurements and Standards for Interstate Special Access Services (CC Docket No. 01-321), CompTel supported a joint industry proposal of 11 performance measurements that the group believes will result in proper provisioning of special access and deter discrimination by the Bells. CompTel also urged the Commission to impose monthly reporting obligations on the Bells and implement an aggressive enforcement regime.

"Special access services are critical to our nation's economic health, because these circuits allow thousands of businesses to send information quickly and efficiently across the Internet," said H. Russell Frisby, Jr., president of CompTel. "Poor quality and service related to special access not only harms carriers' reputations and their ability to provision service, it is detrimental to overall network integrity, which ultimately harms the end user."

State regulators already have determined that concerns about special access provisioning are warranted. For example, the New York Public Service Commission, which has studied the subject in detail, determined that Verizon Communication's provisioning performance is significantly below service quality standards and the company often treats other carriers less favorably than its own end users.

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