Last week, the Governor and Patricia Madrid held a press conference to announce that they had negotiated a settlement with Qwest for $265 million dollars and that they were urging the PRC to accept the deal that had been struck.
ABQjournal: Qwest Plan Means $265M for State:
SANTA FE— Qwest has offered to spend $265 million on new telecommunications infrastructure statewide in an effort to settle a longstanding dispute with state regulators over its investment in New Mexico.
The proposal, unveiled Wednesday during a news conference in Gov. Bill Richardson's office, includes $15 million for technology in schools over three years and $250 million on other improvements over 42 months.
That's about $45 million more than state regulators say Qwest owed the state under a regulatory plan approved in 2001.
Richardson, who presided over the conference, said Qwest's offer would close the technology gap between New Mexico and other states, increase high-speed Internet access from 69 percent of the population to 83 percent and improve access to technology in rural schools.
He urged state regulators to approve the plan.
No Public Regulation Commission members attended the conference.
Sounds great and maybe it is, but I'm waiting for the PRC to determine that. Qwest's easy access to the Guv makes me less that completely confident in a deal struck by his office and that of the Attorney Generals.
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