In the Matter of Application by Bell Atlantic New York for Authorization Under Section 271 of the Communications Act to Provide In-Region, InterLATA Service in the State of New York, CC Docket No. 99-295.

I only concur in today's decision because I would have preferred that the Commission place a greater reliance on the negotiation, arbitration and enforcement of contracts between competing telecommunications companies, as provided under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, than does this Order. Consumers are better served by competition among companies who are more, rather than less, free to pursue innovative technologies and services by way of contract, as opposed to being subject to centralized federal regulation.