Nevada Bell, Cingular parent under investigation

Monday, May 7, 2001 | 10:56 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

TULSA, Okla. -- The parent of Nevada Bell and Cingular Wireless is under investigation for supplying inaccurate information to get government approval for long-distance service in Oklahoma and Kansas.

SBC Communications' long-distance authority could be withdrawn or it could face fines if regulators find the company intentionally misled them and its competitors.

The Federal Communications Commission is examining affidavits filed in October by three executives for SBC Communications, company spokeswoman Saralee Boteler said Friday.

She said SBC found a discrepancy in how it described how its highly technical and complex computer systems provided information to competitors interested in providing DSL, a form of high-speed Internet access service.

The discrepancy, which the company said was unintentional, were reported to the FCC in an April 13 letter, Boteler said. Such a disclosure automatically leads to an FCC investigation.

"We found the discrepancy, we reported it as soon as we found it. We put a fix in place," Boteler said.

The erroneous information prevented a competitor, Dallas-based IP Communications, from selling high-speed Internet services to some SBC customers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

But Boteler said there was no adverse impact because of the errors, which have been corrected. SBC's own high-speed Internet access subsidiary, ASI, relied on the same information, she said.

The false information also may have helped SBC gain approval for long-distance service in Oklahoma after two failed bids, according to published reports.

Three of its competitors, Sprint, AT&T and WorldCom, have appealed an FCC decision in January granting SBC long-distance authority.

The three long-distance companies say SBC failed to meet a competitive checklist of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and did not offer competitors cost-based rates for use of its networks and switches.

SBC and other regional bell phone companies formed after the breakup of AT&T in 1984. The 1996 act requires that the regional companies prove they have opened their local markets to competitors before they can sell long-distance service.

In Nevada, SBC offers local phone service under the Nevada Bell brand in Northern Nevada and Pahrump -- but not the Las Vegas metro area.

SBC has applied to compete with Sprint and other phone companies for local customers in Las Vegas -- and also wants to offer in-state long distance service in Nevada.

SBC's cell phone unit, Nevada Bell Wireless, has been renamed Cingular Wireless. SBC's 40 percent partner in Cingular is BellSouth Corp.