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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:  March  12,  2004  Janice  Wise  at  (202)  418-  7450 
 Janice.  Wise@  fcc.  gov 
 FCC  PROPOSES  RECORD  FINE  OF  $  9  MILLION  AGAINST  QWEST  FOR  FAILURE  TO  FILE  INTERCONNECTION  AGREEMENTS 


 Washington,  D.  C.  –  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  (“  Commission”)  today  proposed  a  forfeiture  of  $9  million  against  Qwest  Corporation  for  its  failure  to  file  46  interconnection 
 agreements  with  the  Minnesota  Public  Utilities  Commission  and  the  Arizona  Corporation  Commission  as  required  by  the  Communications  Act. 


 Section  252(  a)(  1)  of  the  Communications  Act  requires  carriers  to  file  their  interconnection  agreements  for  approval  by  state  public  service  commissions.  This  requirement  ensures  that 
 incumbent  local  exchange  carriers,  like  Qwest,  cannot  enter  into  potentially  discriminatory  arrangements  unknown  to  their  competitors.  The  Commission  found  that  Qwest  apparently 
 withheld  46  agreements  from  state  commissions  in  Minnesota  and  Arizona,  an  apparent  violation  of  section  252(  a)(  1).  The  Commission’s  proposed  forfeiture  complements  state  enforcement 
 proceedings  in  Minnesota  and  Arizona  relating  to  the  same  behavior  by  Qwest. 


 Action  by  the  Commission  on  March  12,  2004,  by  Notice  of  Apparent  Liability  (FCC  04-  57).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  Martin,  and  Adelstein.  Chairman  Powell 
 issuing  a  separate  statement. 


 Enforcement  Bureau  Contacts:  Janice  Wise  at  (202)  418-  7450  and  Mika  Savir  (202)  418-  7450. 
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