Whippany, NJ - April 5, 2004 - The National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) has reduced its DSL tariff wholesale rates for local telephone companies that participate in NECA’s traffic sensitive revenue pool. These new rates were filed with the FCC as a tariff revision on March 17, 2004 and are now in effect. (Tariff revision is posted on NECA.org)

The tariff revisions modify NECA’s service offerings for ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line), and ATM-CRS (Asynchronous Transfer Mode Cell Relay Access Service). The revisions permit NECA DSL tariff participants to provide advanced communications capabilities at tariff rates comparable to those of neighboring Regional Bell Operating Companies.
 
 “There has been strong growth in the deployment of advanced services among NECA members,” said Jim Frame, Vice President, NECA Operations. “In fact, our recent Access Market Survey indicated a 46% increase in the number of NECA traffic sensitive pool members deploying DSL services since 2001.  There are now 832 tariff participants offering DSL services.

“This growth is resulting in lower than anticipated unit cost due to improved utilization of network equipment. The prices vendors charge for broadband access equipment are also falling with the introduction of equipment platforms that can easily be scaled for small to mid size rural markets.”