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US West Suspends Centrex
Plans service relaunch in third quarterBy Mary E. Thyfault
Issue date: March 25, 1996
One of the first major battles of the newly deregulated telecom market is taking place in US West's 14-state territory. The regional Bell operating company is trying to pull its Centrex service off the market, and says it will enhance and relaunch the service in the third quarter. US West is the primary Centrex provider in these states.
The move drew immediate criticism from competitors, who mus t resell Centrex services from US West because they don't have the network facilities to offer the service themselves-as well as from users, who view the move as anticompetitive.
"This deprives our customers of the service," says Jim Lewis, an MCI regional executive for public policy issues. "If we're allowed to resell Centrex, [US West] will lose substantial market share."
Users also object to the service suspension. "We're going to have to drag some carriers into the competitive arena kicking and screaming," says Brian Moir, counsel for a trade group of large business users of telecom services.
Regulators are reviewing US West's request to temporarily suspend Centrex service in Arizona, Colorado, northern Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington. Centrex has been withdrawn from southern Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. It is still available in Minnesota and Oregon.
Centrex lets companies outsource phone networks to the local phone company, which provides services such as call-forwarding, four-digit dialing, and conference calling.
US West says it needs to change Centrex pricing and features, but denies that its moves are anticompetitive. "We sell Centrex in some cases for less than basic phone service," says Jean Hulse, director of US West Access Products and Services. "That doesn't make a lot of sense when competitors are emerging."
Current customers can keep their service until the third quarter, but new customers won't be able to buy Centrex from US West or its competitors.
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