WASHINGTON, D.C. - In response to today’s Verizon-MCI merger announcement, Telecommunications Research and Action Center (TRAC) Research Associate John D. Breyault issued the following statement:

“The announcement today by MCI and Verizon isn't surprising after the AT&T-SBC merger announcement. In reviewing and approving both mergers, regulators should do everything possible to encourage robust competition between Verizon and SBC within each other's territories for all services and among all customers. Clearly this merger is focused on competition at the large enterprise customer level. It can serve the residential customer only if Verizon is committed to taking the MCI assets and becoming a major force outside its region for the residential customer and if SBC takes AT&T's assets and competes within Verizon's region.”

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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.