IP: Covad Blames Its Recent Troubles On Bells' Anticompetitive Tactics

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Sender: rberger () imap ultradevices com
> Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 17:35:36 -0700
> From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ultradevices com>
> Organization: UltraDevices Inc.
>
> Covad Blames Its Recent Troubles On Bells' Anticompetitive Tactics
> By SHAWN YOUNG  Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
> Excerpt: <SNIP>
>
> Covad blames many of its difficulties on anticompetitive tactics by the
> Bells that it says slowed its progress and squandered its capital. "Most
> corporations don't have an attitude toward the law that you take six
> years to comply with it," says Dhruv Khanna, Covad's fiery general
> counsel and one of its founders. "It's death by a thousand cuts. It's do
> the bare minimum to appear to be complying with the law."
>
> Covad has filed antitrust suits against three of the four Bells. Last
> year, SBC Communications Inc. settled, paying $150 million for an equity
> stake and agreeing to buy $600 million in Covad services. The Bells deny
> trying to kill the rivals and say they have made great progress in
> opening their networks to them.
>
> Among the first places Covad tried to offer service was Menlo Park,
> Calif., a Silicon Valley town thick with the venture capitalists the
> company hoped to impress. Through 1997 and 1998, officials of SBC, the
> local phone provider, told Covad there was no space for its gear in an
> important SBC equipment hub. In the fall of 1998, Mr. Khanna requested
> that Covad and SBC submit a growing stack of disputes, including Menlo
> Park, to arbitration. A joint visit to the location was arranged.
>
> The Covad contingent and SBC's lawyers filed in to the building and the
> SBC attorneys went silent. "Literally, you could put a basketball court
> in there," recalls Tom Regan, the Covad official in charge of locating
> its equipment.
>
> At the arbitration hearing the following week, SBC began by announcing
> that there was space in Menlo Park after all. Arbitrators deemed the
> incident far from isolated and said SBC had acted in bad faith, delaying
> Covad by more than a year.
>
> Paul Mancini, SBC's assistant general counsel, declines to discuss the
> specifics of Menlo Park beyond saying the company "may have made a
> mistake." But he says the San Antonio company was doing all it could to
> open its network in the face of a huge surge in demand for its
> resources. "A lot of the issues were really start-up issues," says Mr.
> Mancini. "It has nothing to do with us foot-dragging."
> <snip>
> --
> Robert J. Berger - UltraDevices, Inc.
> 257 Castro Street, Suite 223 Mt. View CA. 94041
> Voice: 650-237-0334 VoiceMail: 408-882-4755 Fax: 408-490-2868
> Email: rberger () ultradevices com  http://www.ultradevices.com



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