ATLANTA-A split exists between industry reality and regulatory expectations for implementing the Telecommunications Act of 1996, according to a survey conducted by Deloitte & Touche L.L.P.
The company said state regulators perceive that preparations for interconnection and resale during 1996 were less difficult than perceived by Independent Local Exchange Carriers and Competitive LECs. Almost 70 percent of ILECs said the difficulty was due to uncertainty as to what is required by the act and regulators.
ILECs and CLECs said they weren’t surprised by the level of disagreement and dissatisfaction about implementation of the act. Regulators said the level of disagreement was substantially more then they expected. ILECs and regulators agreed the dissatisfaction stemmed from the wording of Federal Communications Commission regulations, while most CLECs said carriers and state regulators were excessive in challenging the FCC.
In addition, a majority of ILECs and CLECs thought rules regarding interconnection and pricing would be in place in 1998 or beyond. Regulators said they believe the rules will be in place in the second half of this year.
When asked what has been the practical effect on business practices of ILECs and CLECs in the year since the act passed, both ILECs and CLECs reported a strong focus on implementing marketing techniques, strategies, new products and service development. ILECs and CLECs placed a low emphasis on changing core business structure or capital deployment for operations.
