Bell Atlantic Responds to Pennsylvania State Senators' Withdrawal from PUC's Global Settlement Talks
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Bell Atlantic Responds to Pennsylvania State Senators' Withdrawal
from PUC's Global Settlement Talks
February 9, 1999
| Media contact: | Harry Mitchell, |
BACKGROUND -- Pennsylvania State Senators Vincent Fumo, Roger
Madigan and Mary Jo White today announced they were withdrawing
from the Global Settlement Conference, which was established by the
Public Utility Commission to resolve a number of pending
telecommunications issues. The following should be attributed to
William J. Mitchell, vice president-external affairs of Bell Atlantic --
Pennsylvania:
It's unfortunate that the senators have decided to end their participation
in the Global Settlement Process. Bell Atlantic remains committed to
reaching a reasonable conclusion to the complex telecommunications
issues raised in the Global Settlement.
We respectfully disagree with the senators' characterization of Bell
Atlantic's stance in the negotiations. The confidentiality agreement,
signed by Bell Atlantic and all other parties to the Global Settlement,
prohibits us from addressing these issues publicly, but we have
participated actively in discussions to date.
And we will continue to negotiate in good faith. We expect that the
remaining parties can achieve a fair and comprehensive resolution of the
issues, ending the legal logjam that has kept only one player -- Bell
Atlantic -- from bringing the benefits of fully competitive markets to
Pennsylvanians.