In November 2003, the Commission ruled in Docket No. 11901-U, MCI WorldCom

Communications vs. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., that BellSouth's

policy of requiring customers to receive its voice service in order to receive

DSL service violated state law as well as the parties' interconnection

agreements. More recently, in Docket No. 16583-U, ITC DeltaCom vs. BellSouth

Telecommunications, Inc., the commission again found that BellSouth's

policy violated state law.

Following these rulings, BellSouth changed its policy for customers of these

two companies, but not for those of other competitive local exchange carriers.

In addition to examining Bellsouth's DSL policies, the commission will

look at the bundling practices of all telecommunications providers that involve

the provisioning of DSL and other types of voice service, such as Voice over

Internet Protocol (VoIP). As VoIP becomes more popular demand for unbundled

DSL is expected to increase. If permitted to continue unfettered, unfair

bundling practices could slow the introduction of this new service.

A Commission Order setting forth the schedule for this proceeding is expected

to be issued September 7.