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TSTCInformation
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| Monthly Newsletter
for TSTCI Member Companies |
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| www.tstci.org |
TEXANS HELPING TEXAS |
Volume IV, No. 2 |
Texas Statewide Telephone Cooperative,
Inc. (TSTCI) is a statewide telecommunications non-profit organization
that represents the interest of Texas’ rural independent telephone systems.
All member companies are regulated by the Public Utility Commission of
Texas. |
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FEBRUARY
| Marconi Communications Awarded
TL 9000 Certification for Quality |
After a recent audit, Marconi Communications'
Irving Texas operation was awarded the new TL 9000 quality certification
from the QuEST (Quality Excellence for Suppliers of Telecom-munications)
Forum. Only ten other companies nationwide (SBC, Fujitsu, Motorola,
Lucent, NEC, Nortel Networks, ADTRAN, Pirelli Cables, Siecor and Tellabs)
were presented with this honor.
The TL 9000 certification program requirements
and metrics were developed by the QuEST Forum, which was founded about
two and a half years ago by Pacific Bell, BellSouth and SBC Communications.
The Forum is comprised of over 100 telecommunications service providers
and equipment manufacturers. The TL 9000 program is administered
for the QuEST Forum by the American Society for Quality.
"Since Marconi has always been a leader in
the communications industry, we felt that it would be important for us
to take a leadership role in the areas of quality system development and
continuous improvement concepts," stated John Snarr, Marconi's Director
of Quality. "Over the next few years, TL 9000 certification will
become very important to our customers -- the incumbent local exchange
carriers, competitive local exchange carriers, multiple system operators,
and others. It will become their way of knowing that they are buying
communications systems that conform to the industry's highest standards
for quality."
Marconi Communications is a TSTCI Associate
Member Company. You can learn more about Marconi Communications by
visiting their website at www.marconicomms.com
News from...
Riviera Telephone Company
Mr. Vidal M. Villarreal
retired from Riviera Telephone Company, Inc. on December 31, 1999 after
31 years of dedicated service. Mr. Villarreal came to work at Riviera
Telephone Company, Inc. after four years of service in the United States
Army.
He began his career part time as Bill
Colston's assistant in the outside plant and was the first "non-family"
member hired by Riviera Telephone Company. During his years with
Riviera Telephone Company, Mr. Villarreal learned each aspect of the outside
plant operation and retired as the company's Plant Superintendent.
He was honored with a reception on December
22, 1999 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Colston, Jr. All Riviera
Telephone Company employees attended the reception for Mr. Villarreal.
Please join us in wishing Mr. Villarreal
many years of happiness and relaxation! |
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| Associate Member Spotlight |
John Staurulakis, Inc.
(JSI) is a full-service telecommunications consulting firm that has provided
expert counsel to independent telecom-munications companies for almost
four decades. JSI assists telecommunications providers with all their
strategic and operational needs. Alongside their traditional regulatory
and financial services, JSI also offers keen insight and vision in management
and competitive services, such as strategic planning, board education and
training, marketing and customer service training, CLEC feasibility and
implementation, resale and wireless strategies. In addition, their
two subsidiaries, JSI Capital Advisors and JSI Solutions, provide detailed
acquisition, valuation and financial assistance needed to make sense of
the restructuring taking place in today's industry, as well as telecommunications-specific
accounting software and public relations initiatives.
In 1962, John Staurulakis set out to
offer assistance in individual cost-based settlements to independent local
exchange carriers. Before divestiture, independents were at a distinct
disadvantage in their settlements with Bell companies. Intent on
ensuring these companies received fair and adequate settlements, John Staurulakis
sought to gain a stronger bargaining position in negotiations with the
Bell giants to help independents achieve a more equitable financial position.
In the process, he pioneered the use of cost studies by independents in
a number of states.
Throughout the years, JSI has evolved
as the industry expands and companies offer new products and services.
Headquartered in Maryland, just outside Washington, DC, JSI can keep close
tabs on regulatory proceedings and decisions, legislative initiatives,
and other national developments. Their regional offices in Texas,
Minnesota, Georgia and New Hampshire also enable them to stay closely involved
with independents across the country and to work intimately with state
associations and other regional alliances on key issues. JSI takes
great pride in serving as an advisor to the companies on which rural America
depends for essential services. They strongly support the national
and state associations that help independent companies remain strong despite
the demands and challenges of industry change.
With 90 staff professionals, JSI offers
advice and solutions for the many obstacles companies face in today's telecommunications
marketplace. Their highly experienced staff and level of expertise
will help guide you through complex industry transitions and help you take
advantage of the opportunities before you. JSI will work with you
to achieve your goals and ensure continued growth and success.
For more information about JSI and their
services, visit their website at www.jsitel.com or call them at (301) 459-7590. |
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| ALTS Opposes SWB FCC Application |
On February 1, the Association for Local Telecommunications
Services (ALTS), a national trade association representing facilities-based
competitive local exchange carriers, announced that it opposes Southwestern
Bell Telephone Company's (SWBT's) application to enter the long distance
market in Texas. According to ALTS, SWBT has not opened its local
markets to competition and the FCC will be doing a disservice to consumers
by granting SWBT permission to offer long distance.
"There are still serious concerns that compel
us to oppose SWBT's application," said John D. Windhausen, Jr., President
of ALTS. "The company has not sufficiently opened its market to local
competitors."
"Evidence indicates that SWBT has failed to
comply with many of the items on the FCC's checklist," said Kim Kirby,
ALTS' Vice President of State Affairs. "SWBT performed poorly in
the Texas OSS (operations support system) testing. It has also failed
to provide unbundled network elements (UNEs) in a timely way, particularly
its obligation to deliver nondiscriminatory access to loops capable of
supporting advanced services. It has been noted that there are service
outages, blocked calls, and a troubling prevalence of manual handling of
service orders."
"SWBT has failed to perform on these critical
issues and is relying upon promises of future compliance and has not implemented
solutions to existing provisioning problems," said Jonathan Askin, ALTS'
General Counsel. "It has not met the 14-point competition checklist
in Section 271 of the Federal Telecommunications Act. Until it appropriately
addresses these serious concerns and there is an opportunity to test these
'fixes,' it would be a mistake for the FCC to approve SWBT's 271 application."
For more information on ALTS, visit the ALTS
Web site at www.alts.org.
Quote of the Month...
Keep away from people who try to belittle
your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great
make you feel that you, too, can become great.
- Mark Twain
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February 2000
1 PUC Workshop - Project No. 21400
10 PUC Open Meeting
13-17 NTCA Annual Meeting - New Orleans, Louisiana
March 2000
1 PUC Open Meeting
1-3 TSTCI Plantmen's Conference - San Antonio, Texas
22 PUC Open Meeting
April 2000
3-5 Texaltel's 17th Annual Conference - Austin, Texas
4-6 Expo 2000 - Belton, Texas
5-7 NTCA Legislative Conference (Reg. 4, 5, 7, 8, 10) - Washington,
DC
9-12 USTA Technical Disciplines Conference - Tempe, Arizona
12 PUC Open Meeting
25-28 RCA Annual Convention - Las Vegas, Nevada
27 PUC Open Meeting |
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