The Honorable Michael K. Powell Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, SW Washington, DC 20554

June 26, 2002

Dear Chairman Powell,

On behalf of telephone consumers, local and long distance, we at TRAC request that the Commission intervene in the long distance telephone industry to assure that the events at WorldCom do not result in consumer harm.

We are concerned that WorldCom will attempt to save itself in light of its financial instability on the back telephone consumers. We are concerned that long distance rates and charges will be increased or manipulated without proper notice or opportunity for consumers to switch to alternate carriers. We are concerned too that MCI may not pay its fair share of local costs (access charges) promptly or at all, resulting in possible requests for significant local rate hikes.

We believe the FCC is obligated to protect consumers and the public interest at this time. To do so, it should immediately abandon its forbearance and reinstate full regulatory oversight of the long distance industry until it can be assured that MCI's customers and all local phone customers will not end up paying the costs of WorldCom's errors.

Respectfully,

Samuel A. Simon
Chairman
Telecommunications Research & Action Center

cc: Dorothy Attwood

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MEDIA CONTACT:

John Breyault, TRAC, johnb@trac.org, 202-263-2943

ABOUT TRAC:

The Telecommunications Research and Action Center (TRAC), founded in 1983, is a non-profit membership organization based in Washington, DC that promotes the interests of residential telecommunications customers. TRAC staff researches telecommunications issues and publishes rate comparisons to help consumers make informed decisions regarding their long distance and local phone service options. TRAC can be found on the web at http://www.trac.org.