Group Seeks Probe of Bells in N. Carolina
A trade group for phone companies competing with the Baby Bells is expected to ask North Carolina’s attorney general today to investigate whether a $40-million Bell lobbying campaign violates state antitrust laws.
The request by the Competitive Carriers of the South brings to seven the number of states where such action is sought.
The trade group asks Atty. Gen. Roy Cooper to determine if the Bells broke state laws by allegedly arm-twisting suppliers and manufacturers to join the lobbying campaign, designed to seek an end to federal and state price regulations.
The antitrust issues arose after The Times published details from an internal memo about an Oct. 20 dinner attended by Bell executives and their counterparts at equipment companies.
The U.S. Telecom Assn., the Bell group that hosted the dinner and wrote the memo, denied laws were broken.
-- James S. Granelli
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