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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  May  7,  2003  David  Fiske  (202)  418-  0500 
 dfiske@  fcc.  gov 


 QWEST  ADMITS  VIOLATIONS  OF  LONG  DISTANCE  BAN  –  COMPANY  TO  MAKE  $6.5  MILLION  PAYMENT  TO  UNITED  STATES  TREASURY 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Today,  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  (“  FCC”)  entered  into  a  Consent  Decree  with  Qwest  Communications  International,  Inc.  (“  Qwest”)  in  which  Qwest 
 admitted  that  it  violated  a  federal  ban  on  providing  long  distance  services  in  its  local  service  region  prior  to  receiving  FCC  authorization.  Qwest  also  admitted  that  it  violated  provisions  of 
 the  Qwest/  US  West  Merger  Order  prohibiting  Qwest  from  providing  certain  services  prior  to  receiving  FCC  authorization.  Qwest  has  agreed  to  make  a  $6.5  million  payment  to  the  United 
 States  Treasury. 
 Today’s  action  resolves  an  FCC  investigation  into  Qwest’s  possible  violation  of  section  271(  a)  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended  by  the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996,  which 
 prohibits  the  Bell  Operating  Companies  (“  BOCs”)  from  providing  long  distance  services  originating  in  their  local  service  regions  prior  to  receiving  FCC  approval.  The  investigation  also 
 involved  Qwest’s  possible  violation  of  section  272(  g)  of  the  Act,  which  prohibits  BOCs  from  marketing  or  selling  long  distance  services  in  their  region  before  receiving  section  271  authority. 
 Prior  to  the  1996  Act,  the  BOCs  generally  were  barred  from  providing  long  distance  services  that  cross  local  access  and  transport  (“  LATA”)  boundaries  within  their  regions.  The  1996  Act 
 allowed  the  BOCs  to  enter  these  long  distance  markets  only  after  satisfying  a  number  of  market-opening  conditions  and  receiving  approval  from  the  Commission. 


 Under  the  terms  of  the  Consent  Decree,  Qwest  admits  that  it  provided  long  distance  services  originating  in  its  local  service  region  on  four  separate  occasions,  in  violation  of  section  271(  a)  of 
 the  Act.  Qwest  also  admits  that  it  provided  services  on  eight  separate  occasions,  in  violation  of  the  Qwest/  US  West  Merger  Order. 


 Action  by  the  Commission,  May  5,  2003,  by  Order  (FCC  03-  107),  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  Martin,  and  Adelstein. 
 Enforcement  Bureau  contacts:  Anne  Weismann  at  (202)  418-  7450,  Anthony  Dale  at  (202)  418-  2260,  or  Mark  Stone  at  (202)  418-  0816. 
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