SWB Wireless Announces New Call Center in Lubbock

     In a news release last month, Southwestern Bell Wireless announced that it will open a new customer care call center.  Hiring will begin in the first quarter of 2000, adding more than 800 jobs to the Lubbock area.  This will place SWB Wireless as one of the top 10 employers in Lubbock.  
     The new call center will occupy approximately 130,000 square feet of space previously occupied by Texas Instruments in a building owned by X-Fab, Texas, Inc.
     Chairman of the Board for Market Lubbock, Inc., Mike Field, estimates the new facility will bring $75 million in facility and support payroll services to Lubbock's economy over the next three years.  He stated that, "...with the combination of an incentive grant and Lubbock's strong work force, we were able to work with Southwestern Bell Wireless to secure this positive development."
     Southwestern Bell Wireless will offer management and full-time hourly positions with starting salaries for management positions ranging from $28K to $50K, and starting hourly wages ranging from $9 to $10.50, based on experience.  Specialty positions may offer higher salaries, and every position will offer a comprehensive benefits package.  The Communications Workers of America union will represent non-management employees. 
     Development of the new facility will help SWB Wireless manage the increasing demand for its services by initially providing supplemental customer service.  The center will have the potential to handle up to 850,000 in-bound customer service calls per month, ranging from wireless service inquiries to billing questions.
     Plans are currently under way for the center to offer employees subsidized daycare and cafeteria facilities.  Construction on the center will begin immediately, with construction and staffing finished by the third quarter of this year.
     SWB Wireless has also announced plans to open a customer care call center in Wichita Falls, estimating hiring more than 350 employees in that area over the next year.  Construction on this project is expected to be complete by the end of this year.
 

SBC Receives PUC Approval to Enter the Texas Long Distance Market

      On December 16, 1999, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) formally declared that the local phone market in Texas is open to Southwestern Bell competitors.
     "This market is open.  Over 1 million lines have switched to competitors in Texas," said PUC Chairman Pat Wood, III.  "I am proud of Southwestern Bell for the work it has done and I tip my hat to the competing phone companies who have rolled up their sleeves to enter the market."
     The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that each regional Bell company prove that local telephone service competition exists in its home area before it can offer long distance service to its home customers.  State regulators were required to assess SWBT's performance in meeting a 14-point federal checklist for local competition.  Final permission to provide long distance must come from the FCC. In an Order adopted December 22, 1999, the FCC granted Bell Atlantic's application to enter the interLATA long distance market in New York based on its conclusion that Bell Atlantic had taken the statutorily required steps to open its local exchange and exchange access markets to competition.  The Texas PUC's declaration on SWBT's behalf will serve as a solid recommendation to the FCC.
     The Texas PUC found that SWBT satisfied the 14-point checklist.  The PUC also approved 129 performance requirements for SWBT's ongoing operations.
     "While this is clearly a milestone in opening up the local telecommunications market to competition, it is clear the PUC will continue to play an active role in monitoring compliance and ensuring that the market remains open to competition," said PUC Commissioner Brett Perlman.  "Texas will be the most competitive market for local phone service."