Southwestern Bell Files Long-Distance Application with Federal Communications Commission

Approval will launch Southwestern Bell into era of "new choice"

Washington, District of Columbia, April 11, 1997

Southwestern Bell today filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission in Washington D.C. to offer Oklahomans global long-distance telecommunications services.

If approved by the FCC, Southwestern Bell Long Distance could begin providing wireline long-distance services to customers in Oklahoma. Currently, Southwestern Bell offers wireless long-distance service to its cellular customers.

The FCC has 90 days to rule on the filing, which is required under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, said Dale "Zeke" Robertson, senior vice president - FCC, SBC Communications, parent company of Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is expected to provide its comments on the application later this month.

The FCC filing is the first in Southwestern Bell's traditional five-state territory, which also includes Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas, and is only the second to be filed in the nation. In the coming months, Southwestern Bell expects to file to enter the long-distance business in its other states.

To date, Southwestern Bell has signed interconnection and resale agreements with 16 companies wishing to provide local telephone service in Oklahoma. Six of those agreements already have been approved by the OCC. Southwestern Bell also has an effective Statement of Terms and Conditions under which it generally offers interconnection to competing local carriers in Oklahoma.

"The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires Southwestern Bell to open the local market to new competitors in order to enter the long-distance business," Robertson said. "With our Statement of Terms and Conditions and the interconnection agreements that we have and will continue to negotiate, we have removed all barriers and have met the requirements to enter the long-distance arena."

Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. and Southwestern Bell Long Distance are subsidiaries of SBC Communications Inc., an international leader in the telecommunications industry with more than 31 million access lines across the U.S. and equity stakes in telecommunications businesses reaching more than 260 million potential customers in eight foreign countries. Under the Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell, Nevada Bell and Cellular One brands, the company offers through subsidiaries a wide range of innovative services, including local and long-distance telephone service, wireless communications, paging, Internet access, cable TV and messaging, as well as telecommunications equipment, and directory advertising and publishing. SBC (www.sbc.com) has nearly 110,000 employees and reported 1996 revenues of $23.5 billion.