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Several Bell operating companies (BOCs) urged the FCC this week to bar MCI Communications Corp. {MCIC} from posting certain ads for local service that the BOCs believe violate the 1996 Telecom Act. MCI, which had asked the FCC to declare that such advertising is legal, found support, however, in AT&T {T}, which said that "a contrary ruling would hamper local market entry and raise serious First Amendment concerns."
At center of the debate is advertising that MCI has posted in California to pitch local service resold from Pacific Bell {SBC}. While interexchange carrier (IXC) ads for local service are legal, the Act prohibits the companies from marketing bundled local and long- distance service until the incumbent BOC...