Round Table July 2003

Posted: 7/2003

… ON A NEW LAW IN ILLINOIS ALLOWING SBC
COMMUNICATIONS INC. TO CHARGE COMPETITORS HIGHER RATES TO LEASE ITS LOCAL
TELEPHONE NETWORK

The Illinois legislature and the governor have
created a policy that promotes jobs, investment and which benefits consumers.
Given that environment, we are taking the extraordinary step of committing to no
new Illinois layoffs for at least 12 months.

– Joe Walkoviak, president
and CEO of SBC Midwest.

To argue that raising the rates SBC can charge
competitors will have no effect on consumers is absurd. Who is going to pay for
these rate increases?

– Illinois Sen. Dave
Sullivan, who introduced a bill to repeal the law.

If this legislation isnt enjoined from
going into effect June 9 we will be forced to stop taking new residential local
service orders in Illinois and secondly we will be forced to impose a surcharge
on the phone bills of our 300,000 local residential service customers in
Illinois.

– AT&T Corp. spokesman
Mike Pruyn