Now that a more competition-friendly administration is in place, many CLECs and their advocates feel like they once again have a fighting chance when it comes to securing fair terms and regulations in what’s reverted to a Ma Bell world. For CompSouth, a regional association representing CLECs in the southeast, changes at the national level coincided well with its plans to redouble publicity of its state-focused efforts. To that end, the Nashville, Tenn.-based CompSouth on Feb. 19 went live with its overhauled Web site, a tool that will keep members and observers engaged in public policy activity in nine states.
The CompSouth site had grown stagnant since it was first published in 2002, the year CompSouth formed. But with 12 high-profile members operating in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, the CompSouth board recently decided it was time to build a site that provided more than the basic “who we are” facts – it had to be an organic conduit for education, information and action. After all, there’s too much at stake for CLECs not to have resources such as critical filings and expert commentaries at their fingertips. Perhaps most of all, the revamped site amplifies CompSouth’s profile, serving notice that a group that has seemed much behind the scenes over the past seven years is pushing as hard as ever for regulatory, legislative and OSS fairness, especially when it comes to last-mile access.
‘Concentrated’ Energy and Resources
Indeed, one might wonder why some CLECs have attached themselves to both CompSouth and its national associate member, COMPTEL. The answer is simple, said Richard Brown, CEO of Access Point Inc.: CompSouth works with states, while COMPTEL works, for the most part, nationally.
“It’s funny at times because you can be successful in getting a ruling at the national level but by the time the RBOCs present their view of that ruling to the state Public Utilities Commissions, we sometimes lose some of the ground gained at the national level,” Brown said. “Only through groups like CompSouth can we afford to fight the battle on a state-by-state basis to ensure that we are being treated fairly.”
Carolyn Ridley, vice president of regulatory affairs for Colorado-headquartered tw telecom inc. (TWTC) and vice president of CompSouth, agreed.
“It’s just having a very concentrated amount of energy and additional resources,” she explained, adding, “We make [more than] a little bit of noise when we shout together.”
Indeed, CompSouth boasts its share of triumphs. For example, last year it hired a lobbyist to fight proposed legislation in Tennessee. Because the association was able to fund the effort with money from all members, their work to kill the bill was successful. Such an outcome benefits all CompSouth CLECs, and even others throughout the country, said CompSouth Executive Director Garry Sharp.
“Our members have varying interests in each state but a decision in one state can affect what another state does,” he said. Over the years, he added, he’s seen victories in one state extend to companies that don’t necessarily operate there because lawmakers and regulators nationwide watch, and often emulate, their peers’ decisions.
