Let the Local Phone Wars Begin

Competition among providers of local telephone service is among the latest telecommunications developments in Northwest Arkansas.

Southwestern Bell, one of the so-called “Baby Bells” that resulted when a federal judge ruled the company was an illegal monopoly, is required to let other local providers use its infrastructure to compete.

Alltel Communications Inc., which is already competing with Bell to service local customers in the Little Rock area, has announced it also plans to compete in Northwest Arkansas. It would also appear to potentially be Bell’s most formidable competitor in the region.

Jessica Brogdon, communications supervisor for Alltel, says service in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville will be rolled out simultaneously sometime in 2000.

Brogdon says Alltel will market to both business and residential customers, and it’s likely Alltel wireless customers will be the first solicited for business.

But there are already other local providers in the region. It’s not always easy to find them, though, because no regulators are responsible for monitoring them.

As of Jan. 5, the Public Service Commission had a list of 62 approved “competing local exchange carriers,” commonly referred to in the industry as CLECs (pronounced “sea-lecs”).

All 62 were approved for potential statewide competition.

But as to whether any or all of the CLECs are operating in any particular region, that’s not something the PSC tracks.

Southwestern Bell would know those CLECs that are leasing its facilities, but many CLECs are merely resellers, rather than retailers. As a reseller, the CLEC leases lines from Bell just as any other customer does. The retailers, as Alltel is expected to be, will actually have some of their own equipment in place and will market extra services to customers.

Sarah Bradshaw, spokeswoman for the PSC, says of the resellers, “Most of those sell to people who have credit problems.”

For that reason, their rates may be much steeper than Bell’s, rather than less.

Not only must Bell lease or give space to companies that want to compete with it, but, in another oddity of the telecommunications law, Bell must allow any local carrier who requests a listing as a “local service alternative.”

In the latest edition of the Fayetteville-Springdale telephone book from Southwestern Bell, 12 companies are listed.

But at least two of those are the same company. Arkansas State Telephone (where an operator answered a call with the greeting “Telephone Company”) and State Discount Telephone?Arkansas have the same numbers. A woman answering at that number said the calls were answered in Huntsville, Texas.

In random calls to several of those listings, only one could immediately provide information to a reporter about its services.

Andie Webb, a sales and customer service representative, says Basic Phone Inc. is based southeast of Houston. She declined to be more specific.

She did say the company provides service in five states: Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. The company is about two years old and entered the Arkansas market only about six months ago, Webb says.

Webb also declined to give Basic Phone’s rate schedule. But she says she’s seen competitors’ rates ranging from $40 to $65 and some as high as $80 a month.

“Ours is one of the most competitive,” she says.

For that monthly fee, which must be paid in advance, customers get a dial tone for local calls and access to 911 and 800 calls.