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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  April  29,  2004  Daniel  Gonzalez,  202-  418-  2100 
 FCC  COMMISSIONER  KEVIN  J.  MARTIN  PRAISES  INDUSTRY  EFFORTS  TO  REACH  AGREEMENT  ON  LOCAL  PHONE  COMPETITION 
 “I  am  encouraged  by  the  recent  initiatives  of  both  incumbent  phone  companies  and  competitive  carriers  designed  to  encourage  commercially  negotiated  agreements.  I  strongly 
 support  the  pro-  active  efforts  of  the  companies  that  have  proposed  a  mediated  process  as  well  as  those  that  have  outlined  suggested  terms  and  conditions  to  permit  competitors  access  to 
 the  incumbent’s  network  at  reasonable  rates.  All  affected  companies  should  take  their  lead  and  move  forward  to  negotiate  agreements  that  would  provide  certainty  to  the  parties  while 
 preserving  the  benefits  of  competition  for  consumers.” 


 --  FCC  -- 
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