[January 4, 2002]

"This represents a howling repudiation of virtually everything that BellSouth and the three other local phone giants have told Congress for years.

Their entire lobbying campaign to pass Tauzin-Dingell and roll back a key consumer protection in federal telecom law was predicated on one idea: that current telecom law does not allow them to adequately deploy their high-speed Internet service.

Yet now—by its own admission—BellSouth admits that it is not only deploying high-speed service aggressively, but is winning customers faster than any high-speed provider of any kind in the country!

There is a stark truth in today's announcement: It shows that the Bells have simply not been straight with lawmakers when they say they need legislative relief to deploy broadband.

The race to provide consumers with different types of high-speed access is vibrant and strong. Congress should not choke off competition with special interest bills like Tauzin-Dingell."

—Steve Ricchetti, Voices for Choices co-chairman
in the article Bell South's Bright Future