Virginia State Corporation Commission rules

in favor of Bristol Virginia Utilities

On February 25, 2005, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (Commission) issued a final order concerning the on-going proceeding at the Commission to determine whether Bristol Virginia Utilities’ (BVU) local telephone service is cross subsidized and offered below cost. In December 2002, after United Telephone-Southeast, Inc. (Sprint) filed a petition with the Commission for Declaratory Judgment Interpreting Various Sections of the Code of Virginia, BVU was ordered by the Commission to file cost studies to support the pricing of its basic local exchange service. BVU filed its cost studies with the Commission on August 15, 2003. Subsequently, the hearing on this matter was held on April 14 & 15, 2004 in Richmond, Virginia.

Wes Rosenbalm, President and CEO of Bristol Virginia Utilities, states “We are in the process of reviewing the entirety of the final order, but at this time it appears that the Commission has determined that BVU’s local phone service, in the aggregate, meets the specific requirements of the Virginia Code. This is a confirmation that BVU does not subsidize local telephone services provided by our OptiNet division.”

Either party can file a Petition for Reconsideration, which must be done within 20 days of the order or on or before March 17, 2005. Either party can also file a Notice of Appeal, which must be filed within 30 days of the date of the order, on or before March 27, 2005.

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