AT&T asks PUCO to arbitrate negotiations with Ameritech.

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 1996--AT&T took another step toward offering local phone service to Ohio customers today by asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to arbitrate unresolved issues in the company's ongoing negotiations with Ameritech.

AT&T also asked state commissions in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin to arbitrate negotiations with Ameritech in their respective local phone service markets.

Negotiations with Ameritech have failed to produce an agreement that would allow AT&T to offer consumers and businesses a realistic choice in price, product and service quality. Fair agreements with the local phone monopolies are critical for AT&T and other long-distance carriers to offer customers all the benefits competition will bring.

"The outcome of arbitration will do more than simply set the terms under which AT&T competes with Ameritech," said Bonnie Manzi, AT&T vice president of local services. "It will also determine whether customers really will have a true choice in the local service market.

"We want to bring customers a real choice, and we want to do it as quickly as possible," Manzi added. "That was the intent of Congress when it passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. We've been negotiating with Ameritech for more than a year, and we hope to continue negotiations. But we simply have not been able to agree on some critical issues, which is why we've asked the PUCO to step in to resolve them."

AT&T began negotiating with Ameritech in May 1995 on opening local markets to competing carriers. After Congress passed the Telecommunications Act in February, the talks continued, entering a new phase. Since early July, neutral third parties have been mediating the negotiations.

The new law stipulates that any company involved in negotiating terms and conditions for offering local telephone service can ask state regulators to settle disputed or deadlocked issues. AT&T could have filed for arbitration as early as July 11 but decided to continue mediated discussions as long as possible, Manzi said.

"We want a mutually acceptable business agreement with Ameritech, an agreement to buy specific services from Ameritech," she said. "We hope such a business deal is still possible."

AT&T and Ameritech have reached tentative agreement on some issues. But many other points, including such critical issues as pricing, service quality, branding and various operational details, remain to be settled. AT&T would like to continue negotiating with Ameritech throughout arbitration to resolve as many issues as possible outside the arbitration process. In the case of Ameritech, the decision on local market competition must be made by Nov. 27, when the new telecommunications law dictates that an arbitration decision is due.

"AT&T is eager to expedite final agreements," Manzi said. "It's in the public's best interest to have true, fair competition as soon as possible.

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