Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!sun-barr!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!dsinc!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request
From: wright@ais.org (Carl Wright)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Multi-Location WATS Discount
Message-ID: <16593@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 31 Jan 91 04:57:36 GMT
Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu
Organization: UMCC, Ann Arbor, MI
Lines: 41
Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 83, Message 10 of 11


In article 16225 (John R. Levine) writes:

>According to an article in {Data Communications} (not a bad magazine,
>available free to qualified readers) the AT&T aggregator business
>exists because of tariff peculiarities. [other stuff deleted]

AT&T developed IMHO multi-location WATS and Affinity Group WATS to
permit it to sell to large corporations with many allied locations and
give a discount for the amount of business brought to them in one
sale. They are forced to permit the aggregator to build its own group
because of laws/regulations prohibiting them from restricting access
to tariffed services to just a segment of the possible buyers. The
service must be available to all comers, even other competitors.

I spoke at a conference for aggregators done by Dr. Bob Self, guru of
tariffs.  Many of the speakers imagined that AT&T liked this so long
it brought in the other guy's customer and hated when it just lowers
their income on existing customers.

Aggregation is being done also with MCI and Sprint, but most attendees
were interested in using AT&T. This is partly because MCI is resisting
aggregation strenuously. I don't know why Sprint wasn't being used
more.

>direct.  I forget how the aggregator makes money, either it's a fee
>they charge their customers, or AT&T rebates part of the ultimate
>customers' bills.

I imagine that this has changed, but many of the aggregators at the
conference were getting credits against their bills. This left them
with growing credits, but no CASH. It sounded like AT&T might be
changing this, but I haven't heard.

This is a very fast changing situation and the conference was many
months ago.


Carl Wright                     | Lynn-Arthur Associates, Inc.
Internet: wright@ais.org        | 2350 Green Rd., #160
Voice: 1 313 995 5590 EST       | Ann Arbor, MI 48105