Nov, 2001 : E.spire Files Complaint Against Verizon For Unpaid Bills

📅 November 12, 2001 - e.spire Communications, Inc. (espire.net) filed twocomplaints against Verizon (verizon.com) charging that it has failed to pay millions of dollars of bills in violation of orders issued by the Maryland Public Service Commission and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The first complaint, before the Maryland Commission, points to Verizon'salleged flouting of a June order of the Commission requiring Verizon tocontinue to pay reciprocal compensation bills in Maryland in the wake of arecent order of the Federal Communications Commission. The MarylandCommission has found that Verizon must continue to pay such bills until itsigns new amendments to its interconnection agreements. Verizon and e.spireare still negotiating an amendment, but Verizon continues to withholdpayment, in defiance of the Commission's express orders.
The Commission has already ordered Verizon to pay Core Communications(core.net) and all other competitors in Maryland. WorldCom, Inc. (worldcom.com) has also filed a complaint, asking the Commission to levy $25,000 per day in penalties for Verizon's failure to pay similar WorldCom bills. e.spire has asked the Commission to order swift and severe sanctions, including delaying Verizon's Maryland application to reenter the long distance market, until it can demonstrate 18 consecutive months of abiding by the Commission's local competition orders.
"Verizon just doesn't get it. It thinks e.spire should make payments toVerizon, but Verizon is above the law and doesn't have to pay for servicesrendered by e.spire," said James C. Falvey, e.spire senior vice president ofregulatory affairs. "It seems to think it can ignore the MarylandCommission. What Verizon is really trying to do is force all competitors outof the market so it can continue to run its monopoly."
e.spire also filed a complaint in Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, chargingVerizon with failure to pay a total of $2.6 million in overdue payments toe.spire. Verizon has claimed that e.spire owes money to Verizon, but aninternal e.spire audit determined that Verizon had lost and misplaced checksmade by e.spire, and returned checks to e.spire without explanation. Thee.spire audit determined that e.spire payments were in fact current, thecompany says.
e.spire has requested an expedited hearing by the Maryland Commission.e.spire Communications, Inc. is a leading integrated communicationsprovider, offering traditional local and long distance, dedicated Internetaccess, and advanced data solutions, including ATM and frame relay. e.spirealso provides Web hosting, dedicated server, and co- location servicesthrough its Internet subsidiary, CyberGate, Inc., and its subsidiaryValueWeb. e.spire's subsidiary, ACSI Network Technologies, Inc., providesthird parties, including other communications concerns, municipalities, andcorporations, with turnkey fiber-optic design, construction, and projectmanagement expertise.