The FCC circulated an order on forbearance for Qwest in four metr...

The FCC circulated an order on forbearance for Qwest in four metropolitan areas, a commission source told us, declining to elaborate. Meanwhile, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., urged commissioners to follow review tests set in the FCC order granting Qwest forbearance in Omaha. The carrier wants relief from loop and transport unbundling rules in Denver, Phoenix, Seattle and Minneapolis. Qwest and forbearance opponents have been lobbying legislators to write to the FCC (CD June 27 p9). Kyl has no “independent knowledge” of whether competition in Phoenix warrants regulatory relief, he said. “But the public policy goal ought to be free and rigorous competition, with minimal federal intervention required.” The Omaha order “may provide a good case study for the FCC review of Qwest’s latest petition,” he said. In an ex parte last week, CompTel fought the Omaha order’s applicability. “The Omaha experiment has proven unsuccessful and the Commission should avoid making the same mistake again,” it said.