AG's Office Recommends Denial of US West-Qwest Merger.Business Editors OLYMPIA, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 2000 The Attorney General's Office today recommended that the proposed merger between US West and Qwest Communications
According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. written testimony filed with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) is a three-member board appointed by the Governor of Washington and confirmed by the Washington State Senate to six year terms. (WUTC WUTC Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission ), the Attorney General's Public Counsel Office has concluded that US West is &uot;substantially out of compliance&uot; with most Washington service-quality rules. In addition, &uot;customer complaints are high and service-quality trends are not favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. ,&uot; the testimony stated. &uot;The merger application contains nothing to suggest the new company would improve service,&uot; Attorney General Christine Gregoire Christine O'Grady "Chris" Gregoire (born March 24, 1947) is the Democratic governor of the U.S. state of Washington. Gregoire's election to the office in 2004 was notable for her historically slim margin of victory over Republican Dino Rossi, who had appeared to defeat Gregoire on said. &uot;Our recommendations are designed to commit the company to improving basic customer service first, and compensating Washington customers when service is inadequate.&uot; The Attorney General's Office recommended that before the merger is approved, US West be required to: -- Provide credits on a customer's bill in an expanded variety of circumstances when the company fails to provide the minimum service required by law. -- Complete current orders for service that are now delayed. -- Provide customers with an order confirmation number when they request service, so they will have a way to track their order within the company. -- Develop a mechanism to penalize pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. the company when statutory service-quality requirements are not met. -- Expand monthly service-quality performance reporting. -- Assure that costs of the proposed improvements be paid by the company and shareholders, not ratepayers. The Public Counsel Office concluded that the proposed merger would put customers at greater risk as the merging companies integrate operations and capital is drawn away from the traditional phone business through investment in out-of-region and non-regulated activities. US West and Qwest sought merger approval from the WUTC in August. The commission is expected to rule in March, following public hearings. The merger also requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. and regulators in other states served by US West. For an electronic copy of this release, visit the Attorney General's website at http://www.wa.gov/ago |
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