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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  CONTACTS  April  29,  2004  David  Fiske,  202-  418-  0513 
 Michael  Balmoris,  202-  418-  0253 


 FCC  CHAIRMAN  MICHAEL  POWELL’S  COMMENTS  ON  AT&  T’S  PROPOSAL  TO  TRANSITION  TO  FACILITIES-  BASED  COMPETITION 
 Washington,  DC  –  I  applaud  AT&  T’s  effort  to  move  forward  on  the  contentious  issue  of  access  to  local  phone  network  elements.  It  is  significant  and  important  for  the 
 telecommunications  industry  that  AT&  T  has  signaled  that  it  plans  to  use  more  of  its  own  facilities  to  provide  local  phone  service.  In  the  long  run,  the  transition  to  facilities-  based 
 competition  holds  out  the  best  promise  of  real  benefit  to  America’s  telephone  consumers. 
 Coming  on  the  heels  of  previously  announced  market-  based  agreements  between  carriers,  this  clearly  shows  that  AT&  T  has  taken  seriously  the  Commission’s  call  to  engage  in  good  faith 
 negotiations  over  unbundled  network  elements.  My  hope  is  these  agreements  and  proposals  will  provide  the  momentum  needed  to  bring  a  successful  conclusion  to  the  negotiations,  so  that  the 
 Commission  can  turn  its  attention  toward  creating  an  environment  that  supports  the  availability  of  broadband  services  for  all  Americans. 


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