Congress has told the FCC and the state public utility commissions to conform our rulebook to a new pro-competitive, deregulatory national policy framework and to umpire disputes. Congress didn't want another season to be played under the old rules, so it required the changes to be completed promptly. Many of the most critical new competition rulemakings had six month deadlines. We designed these rules to permit rapid new entry and fair play. We rejected efforts to give some players advantages not shared by others.
Every team has a fair chance to win.
As a result, success will be determined more by skills and competitive zeal than by lobbying regulators. That is as it should be. We issued the Interconnection Order on August 8th, and expect to complete universal service and access reform during the first quarter of 1997. One of our most important decisions under the Act addresses the right to interconnect a competitor's network with the incumbent's wireline network. Fair interconnection arrangements are crucial to your business.