New Qwest settlement has [one] critic convinced

New Qwest settlement has critic convinced

The New Mexican Qwest and state officials filed an amended settlement proposal with the state Public Regulation Commission on Friday, increasing the amount of the settlement to $270 million.

That's an increase of $5 million over the original proposal that Qwest, the state Attorney General's Office, the state General Services Department and the Governor's Office offered in July.

If the commission accepts the offer, it will end litigation over a 2001 agreement that required Qwest to invest $788 million in the state's telecommunications system by March of this year.

Alex Cuellar, spokesman for the General Services Department, said the commission could consider the new settlement offer as soon as Tuesday.

The litigation started after it became apparent in 2005 that the company was going to come up about $224 million short of meeting the agreement. The commission
ordered Qwest to spend the money or refund it to customers, who had paid more for telephone services in return for the investment.