BACKGROUND: The Solicitor General today declined to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a lower court decision overturning the FCC's "Triennial Review" local competition rules.
The following statement should be attributed to Stasia Kelly, MCI Executive Vice President and General Counsel:
"MCI is disappointed that the Solicitor General declined to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a lower court decision overturning the FCC's Triennial Review local competition rules. If the FCC's rules are allowed to lapse and wholesale rates rise MCI may be forced to raise prices in some markets and pull out of others.
Nationwide, more than 19 million consumers have already switched their residential phone service from the monopoly Bell to a competitive provider, including more than 3.5 million who have chosen MCI's all-distance service, The Neighborhood. The Administration's decision will clearly disrupt the marketplace. Without competition, consumers will soon find themselves with higher rates, lower quality of service and less innovation."
| Area: | Global |
| Name: | Peter Lucht |
| Tel: | +1-617-535-5533 |
| E-mail: | peter.lucht@verizon.com |
