-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Ameritech first in nation to detail plans to open local network Ameritech has become the first communications company in the nation to volunteer to open its local network to competitors. Ameritech today submitted tariffs to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) that specify how it will open its local network to competitors in Illinois communities where it is the primary telephone company. If approved, the tariffs will go into effect when Ameritech is authorized to enter the long distance business. "We believe that our customers want and deserve the choices that only all-out communications competition can deliver," said Dick Brown, Ameritech vice chairman. "No court ordered us to do this. No regulators mandated that it must be done. Ameritech initiated the idea as a way to better serve our customers and we now have delivered a detailed blueprint for getting the job done." When the changes that Ameritech has proposed are implemented, a competitor, subject to regulatory approval, can use portions of the Ameritech network to provide local telephone service. Thus, the competing company on its own can provide all of the capabilities necessary to offer local communications services, or it can obtain from Ameritech the capabilities that are needed but which it chooses not to provide itself. "The positive regulatory environment in Illinois favorably positions this state and its citizens to lead the way on the information superhighway and to be among the first to reap the economic benefits of communications competition," said Doug Whitley, president of Ameritech Illinois. Specifically, Ameritech's Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) filing proposes procedures, technical specifications and prices. It describes how competitors can: - - Obtain access to Ameritech's local distribution network in Illinois (the local loop) so that they can use the Ameritech links to reach customers' homes or offices. - - Purchase from Ameritech the local switching capability. - - Integrate their local switches and networks with the Ameritech network. The Ameritech filing also provides details of a process under which an Ameritech customer in Illinois can choose to have a single company handle local and long distance calls. Ameritech's quid pro quo for fully opening its local network to competitors is straightforward: Ameritech wants new regulations geared to a competitive marketplace and the freedom to provide long-distance services. When Ameritech's plan to fully open the local network to competitors is implemented, all-out competition, market-driven prices and accelerated innovation will shape communications marketplaces in the portions of Illinois the company serves. "Ameritech should be a full participant in the new communications world that is emerging. We want the flexibility to serve its customers as they want to be served," said Brown. "As customers' needs become more sophisticated and voice, data and video industries converge, opening access to all networks is necessary for a fully competitive communications marketplace." "The same rules should apply to all players -- providers of voice, video and data; long distance or local service," he said. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.3a iQCVAgUBLWJ0FtCcBnAsu2t1AQF3EAQAhqNcBIwBF1p8IxqwBWm/ZFui7KR8VWV9 bm1d6531kXoXt6wA7qaKqnZ8KvAfjCKxmEgBQ3OFCB9jYkyBB6/DRByNyb/agldS trTdUn48LZgsm4IP2Kr1O0Ds2J17droUS7bljNhrohjtCIoVY1UU8sOoefxMqlKG DRxjEEmCT58= =IMpJ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----