SBC's Bill Daley Says Market is Teaming with Competition

Consumers are now readily substituting wireless for wireline service and enjoy an unprecedented choice of options, said William Daley, President of SBC Communications, at the USTA Telecom 03 conference in Las Vegas. Daley argued that in this flourishing market of consumer choice, where one could easily switch between cable or DSL broadband providers, it is imperative for the FCC to implement rational policy decisions. Daley said he has been surprised by the harshness of the policy debates in the telecom industry -- an interesting observation for someone who joined SBC in 2001 after serving as Commerce Secretary in the Clinton administration and then chairing Al Gore's presidential bid. Daley also observed that the local phone companies' legacy of customer service is now being extended into the consumer privacy debate. Although phone companies have long offered unlisted numbers, Daley said that such consumer protections are under assault by the misguided attempts of the recording industry to protect their intellectual property. Pending further court rulings, SBC is refusing to disclose broadband subscriber identities under subpoena from the RIAA. Daley said the RIAA's abuse of this private right of subpoena "opens the door for an Internet stalker, for example, to obtain a person's name, address and telephone number, armed with little more than an e-mail address and a claim of copyright."http://www.sbc.com