PacBell to Make New Bid for Long-Distance

Pacific Bell is expected to file new paperwork today or Friday arguing that state regulators should give the company clearance to enter the long-distance business.

The state’s largest phone company has been prohibited from selling long-distance service within its California territory until it fulfills a checklist of requirements and proves that its local markets are sufficiently open to competition. The checklist was compiled by the Federal Communications Commission as part of the nation’s move to deregulate telecommunications.

PacBell, a unit of SBC Communications Inc., has been asserting for two years that it already complies with the checklist, but critics and regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission have disagreed in the past.

In December, the PUC turned away PacBell, outlining a series of shortcomings. The company’s expected filing--which will likely amount to thousands of pages--is supposed to document that those shortcomings have been addressed.

Rival phone companies are likely to challenge PacBell’s assertions. PacBell is hoping the PUC will vote on its long-distance application in October. Then PacBell would need FCC approval. To date, none of the Baby Bell phone companies has won entry into long-distance.