NEWSReport No. CC-586      COMMON CARRIER ACTION         September 19, 1994


      FCC GRANTS APPLICATIONS TO RESELL INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE LINES;
           UNITED KINGDOM FOUND TO OFFER EQUIVALENT PRIVATE LINE
                           RESALE OPPORTUNITIES

     The Commission today granted the applications of ACC Global Corporation and Alanna
Inc. for Section 214 authority to resell international private lines for the provision of switched
services between the United States and the United Kingdom.  In so doing, the Commission finds
for the first time that the United Kingdom offers U.S.-based resellers resale opportunities
substantively equivalent to those available under U.S. law.  

     ACC, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, is an
interexchange carrier wholly-owned by ACC Corp., a publicly-traded U.S. corporation.  Alanna,
a corporation organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is wholly owned
by FMR Corp., a privately-owned investment management organization.
 
     In its 1991 International Resale Order, the Commission concluded that promoting the
resale of international private lines to provide switched services would foster new entry into the
international telecommunications market, and exert downward  pressure on above-cost
international accounting rates and foreign collection rates.  The Commission further concluded,
however, that unless resellers were able to interconnect international private lines to the public
switched network (PSN) at both ends, such resale would have the undesirable effect of
undermining the goals and benefits that international private line resale is expected to achieve. 

     To address this concern, the Commission authorized private line resale for the provision
of switched services only to countries that allow resale to occur in both directions, and required
each applicant seeking to resell international private lines between the United States and a
foreign country to demonstrate that the destination foreign country affords resale opportunities
equivalent to those available under U.S. law.  In 1992, the Commission first applied this
standard to Canada and found that Canada affords equivalent resale opportunities. 

     Based on the record developed in the ACC and Alanna proceedings, the Commission
found that the United Kingdom meets this equivalency requirement.  The Commission
determined that the United Kingdom provides open entry for, and nondiscriminatory treatment
of, U.S.-based resellers, as well as the ability to interconnect international private lines to the
PSN at both ends.  In addition, the Commission concluded that the terms and conditions
associated with the provision of international private line services in the United Kingdom are
substantially equivalent to those available in the United States.  
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     Specifically, the Commission concluded that the U.K. regulatory regime has adequately
addressed the principal concerns raised in the record about U.K. regulatory and market
conditions, such as the high level of access deficit contributions payable by resellers and the
U.K. interconnect regime.  The Commission  indicated, however, that if the evolving regulatory
policies implemented in the United Kingdom with regard to such issues alter the commercial
viability of the U.K. international resale market, the Commission will necessarily review the
equivalency of the U.K. market.  Finally, the FCC granted the applications of ACC and Alanna
subject to the condition that the United Kingdom must designate the United States as an
equivalent country before they may engage in their authorized services. 

     Overall, the Commission concluded that the introduction of international private line
resale between the United States and the United Kingdom promotes the introduction of new
international telecommunications services at lower prices and new entry into the international
telecommunications market, and advances the goal of achieving the global information
infrastructure.

     Action by the Commission September 19, 1994, by Memorandum Opinion, Order and
Certification (FCC 94-236).  Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Barrett, Ness and Chong.

                                   -FCC-

     News Media contacts: Patricia A. Chew and Susan Sallet at (202) 418-0500.
     Common Carrier Bureau contacts: Jennifer A. Warren at (202) 418-1460 and Diane
Cornell at (202) 418-1470.