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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:  July  17,  2003  David  Fiske  (202)  418-  0500 
 FCC  AND  BELLSOUTH  ENTER  INTO  A  $1.4  MILLION  CONSENT  DECREE  CONCERNING  LONG  DISTANCE  AND  NON-  DISCRIMINATION  REQUIREMENTS 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Today,  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  entered  into  a  Consent  Decree  with  BellSouth  Corporation  to  resolve  two  investigations  into  whether  BellSouth  had 
 violated  certain  provisions  of  the  Communications  Act  governing  the  provision,  marketing  and  sale  of  long  distance  services,  and  related  non-  discrimination  and  separate  affiliate  requirements. 
 BellSouth  has  agreed  to  make  a  voluntary  payment  of  $1.4  million  to  the  United  States  Treasury,  and  to  take  additional  specific  steps  to  ensure  future  compliance  with  rules  at  issue  in  the 
 investigations. 
 The  first  investigation  resolved  by  today’s  action  involved  possible  violations  of  sections  271(  a)  and  (b)  and  section  272(  g)(  2)  of  the  Communications  Act,  which  prohibit  Bell  Operating 
 Companies  (“  BOCs”)  from  providing,  marketing,  or  selling  long  distance  services  originating  in  their  local  service  regions  prior  to  receiving  FCC  approval.  The  investigation  focused  on 
 allegations  that  BellSouth  marketed,  sold,  or  provisioned  long  distance  services  on  six  separate  occasions  in  six  states  from  May  through  December  2002.  The  second  investigation  involved 
 possible  violation  of  section  271(  c)  and  sections  272(  b),  (c),  and  (e)  of  the  Act,  which  impose  certain  non-  discrimination  and  separate  affiliate  requirements  on  a  BOC.  The  investigation 
 focused  on  allegations  that  Bell  South  Long  Distance  (“  BSLD”)  refused  to  provide  long  distance  service  to  competitive  local  exchange  carrier  (“  CLEC”)  end-  users  because  BSLD  did  not  have 
 operational  agreements  with  those  CLECs. 
 In  addition  to  the  $1.4  million  voluntary  payment,  as  part  of  the  settlement,  BellSouth  has  agreed  to  comply  with  the  FCC’s  separate  affiliate  requirements,  including  the  obligation  to 
 obtain  a  biennial  audit  by  an  independent  auditor,  in  all  nine  states  in  its  region  until  every  state  in  its  region  is  relieved  of  these  obligations.  These  obligations  would  otherwise  have  expired  in 
 each  state  three  years  after  long  distance  authority  was  granted.  In  addition,  BellSouth  will  revise  certain  training  and  compliance  programs  that  focus  on  satisfaction  of  the  separate  affiliate 
 requirements.  Finally,  BellSouth  has  agreed  to  increase  its  efforts  to  provide  CLECs  with  the  opportunity  to  enter  into  operational  agreements  with  BSLD  so  that  CLEC  end-  users  may  more 
 easily  receive  long  distance  service  from  BSLD  if  they  so  choose. 
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 Action  by  the  Commission,  July  15,  2003,  by  Order  (FCC  03-  174),  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  Martin,  and  Adelstein. 
 Enforcement  Bureau  contacts:  Anne  Weismann  at  (202)  418-  7450  or  Hillary  S.  DeNigro  at  (202)  418-  7334. 
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