FELLOW OFFICIALS ATTACK CONNECTICUT REGULATOR OVER AT&T'S SERVICE

摘要

Connecticut's utility regulator should reverse a draft decision "letting AT&T off the hook" for falling short on phone-repair requirements for eight years and punish the company more harshly, state and union officials said. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Consumer Counsel Mary Healey on Friday attacked the Department of Utility Control's proposed ruling. President Bill Henderson of Communications Workers of America Local 1298 also opposed it. Connecticut requires phone companies to fix out-of-service phones within 24 hours 90 percent of the time, a standard AT&T hasn't met since 2001, Blumenthal and Henderson said. They blamed the showing on layoffs that they said have shrunk AT&T's work force below acceptable levels. They are seeking fines that could total millions of dollars. The draft proposed no financial penalties against AT&T. It gives the company until June 30 to offer a "specific timetable" on how it plans to improve its repair performance. AT&T would have until Aug. 31 to find a way to identify customers with "documented serious medical conditions" in its repair records.