Telephone providers seek competitive classification

SBC and CenturyTel, both longtime telephone service providers in Missouri, have filed for competitive classification for telephone exchanges in Springfield and Branson, respectively, as a result of Missouri Senate Bill 237, which took effect Aug. 28.

Officials for the Missouri Public Service Commission telecommunications department said four of the state’s major incumbent companies – SBC, CenturyTel, Sprint Missouri Inc. and Spectra Communications Group LLC – have filed for competitive classification as a response to the bill, which introduced new criteria for the granting of competitive status to incumbent carriers in exchanges that have at least two competitors with their own facilities.

Ellen Bogard, SBC spokeswoman, said SBC on Aug. 30 filed an application with the PSC to reclassify the Springfield exchange and 27 other residential and 50 other business service areas. SBC has a presence in 160 of the state’s roughly 700 exchanges.

Bogard doesn’t foresee rates changing after competitive classifications are issued. She said rates already have fallen due to competition spurred by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was meant to increase consumer choices.

Bogard said the new classification mainly will help SBC and other incumbents compete more effectively with ancillary services and promotions. Prior to SB 237, incumbent providers could not offer promotions to existing customers.

“Overall, this bill isn’t going to change any pricing trends in the marketplace because there is so much competition,” Bogard said. “It’s about being able to compete in a timely manner.”

For purposes of being reclassified, SBC cited McLeodUSA Inc. and Sprint as residential competitors and Missouri Telecom Inc. and Sprint as business competitors in the Springfield exchange.

CenturyTel, which services 96 Missouri exchanges, on Sept. 9 requested competitive classification for residential service in seven exchanges, including Branson.

There are currently 43 local exchange carriers in Missouri, some of which entered the market following the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

However, recent competition hasn’t come only from other telephone giants. Smaller companies, some that simply lease lines from incumbent providers rather than owning facilities, have given Springfield consumers more choices.

Leanne Gaston, telemarketing manager for Southern Telcom Network based in Mountain Home, Ark., said her 12-year-old company has been leasing lines from SBC in Missouri for a couple of years and recently started soliciting Springfield-area consumers heavily.

“I feel nobody should be monopolized,” Gaston said. “People should have a choice.”

Southern Telcom Network, which offers service in 14 states, offers clients savings of 20 percent over existing rates.

PSC officials said the approval process for competitive classification takes 30 days.