SBC seeks OK to
provide long-distance in Nevada
Before winning permission to offer long-distance in their home states, SBC and the other Baby Bells created by the 1984 break-up of AT&T Corp. must open their local telephone markets to competitors and provide rivals access to their networks.
The Federal Communications Commission has 90 days to weigh SBC's application. SBC said it processed more than 50,000 orders from competitors for access to its Nevada network last year.
SBC, the No. 2 U.S. local telephone company, currently offers long-distance services in seven states: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. San Antonio, Texas-based SBC said it would seek FCC approval later this week to offer long-distance service in Michigan.
Shares of SBC rose 60 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $29.36 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Baby Bells are pushing into the the long-distance with service packages that offer customers local, long-distance, Internet and sometimes wireless services on one bill. That has escalated competition in the already cut-throat long-distance industry, where market leaders AT&T Corp. and WorldCom Inc. have been grappling with weak demand and a glut of network capacity.