The Michigan Public Service Commission's endorsement is expected to lead to approval from the FCC for the San Antonio-based telephone giant to get into Michigan's long-distance market.
The 1996 Telecommunications Act requires that before former local phone monopolies can offer long distance, they have to show they've opened their networks to competitors who want to offer local phone service.
Opponents of SBC's long-distance approval said the carrier has failed to establish a system that lets customers easily switch local providers.
"If [SBC] gets away with long-distance approval without opening up their network, that's an enormous windfall," said Rick Coy, an attorney with the Competitive Local Exchange Carriers Association of Michigan. "They will re-monopolize the market and raise prices, and competitors will have a difficult time surviving."
SBC already offers long-distance service in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas and is trying to win approval to do so in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin.
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