BellSouth Corp. on Friday filed a two-state application for federal approval to offer long-distance service in Florida and Tennessee, marking the company’s final regulatory step necessary to provide long-distance service in its nine-state region.
Florida and Tennessee, where local regulators voted in favor of BellSouth receiving permission to vie with competitors for long-distance customers, represents approximately 38 percent of the company’s network, BellSouth said Friday.
BellSouth announced Wednesday receiving federal approval to provide long-distance telephone service in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. BellSouth will begin marketing long-distance service in those five states beginning this month.
In May the FCC granted the Bell company long-distance approval in Georgia and Louisiana.
Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, BellSouth had to show state and federal regulators its local network is open to competition before it could receive approval to provide long-distance service within its nine-state local territory. BellSouth CEO Duane Ackerman said Wednesday the company is on track to obtain long-distance approval in its entire region by the end of the year.
