Press Release

HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today tentatively granted three telephone companies a license to provide basic local telephone service in the Commonwealth.

The companies include Satcom Communications, ARC Networks and ANC Communication Services. They join more than 240 competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC) with authority to operate in Pennsylvania.

The PUC determined that the companies had sufficient technical, financial and managerial resources to provide local telephone service, and granted the certificates of public convenience conditioned on the companies complying with all provisions of the Public Utility Code.

Florida-based Satcom Communications will provide facilities-based local services in non-rural areas primarily to residential and business customers in Sprint/United’s service territory.

ARC Networks, a New York Corporation, will provide facilities-based local service in non-rural areas primarily to residential and business customers in the service territory of Verizon.

Michigan-based ANC Communication Services will provide non-rural telecommunication services to residential and business customers in the service territories of Verizon, Verizon North and Sprint/United.

The tentative order will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The public will have 10 days from the date of publication to file written comments to the PUC or to request an oral hearing before the Commission. In no comments are received or if no one requests an oral hearing, the tentative order will become final and the companies may begin providing service.

CLECs compete with local phone companies by packaging services and offering customers pricing plans tailored to their needs. Typical business services include direct inward dialing, call forwarding and transfer, and call pickup and intercom. Residential services include, for example, call waiting, caller-ID and speed dialing. CLECs may also sell cellular phone service.

Companies reach their customers in several ways. They can use the existing phone network to purchase services from the local phone company at wholesale rates approved by the PUC and then resell the services to their customers. Some decide to build a new network and install telephone lines to connect to their customers. Others use a combination of the methods by leasing parts of the existing system and interconnecting the telecommunications equipment of the two companies.