The PUCO upheld a Jan. 31 ruling that Ameritech had appealed. In its original ruling, the regulators told Ameritech to open 20 central offices in the southeast Ohio region. But on Thursday, PUCO Chairman Alan Schriber said that was not practical.
The order requires Ameritech to work with the Governor's Office of Appalachia and its director, Joy Padgett, to bring high-speed Internet capability to the region.
Padgett said in a telephone interview from Ironton that she has had "general talks" with Ameritech, but was waiting to see how the case turned out. Ameritech can appeal the ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court, but company spokesman Greg Connel said it needed to further study the ruling.
Appalachia presents a challenge because so many of its homes and businesses have inadequate wiring for high-speed connections, Padgett said.
"We're fortunate we just completed an Access Appalachia study," Padgett said. "We probably have a little more general capacity than we thought, but what we call the last mile needs some work."
She said she's ready to get to work once the case reaches a resolution.
"We have enough basic information, plus the information Ameritech has," she said. "I've got a lot of confidence in the private sector knowing the region as well."
The PUCO ruling resulted from an audit conducted of Ameritech's service between August 1999 and May 2001. The commission, in the 4-1 ruling, said Ameritech had improved service since that time, but the agency was justified for fining Ameritech for not meeting service performance standards during that period.
The $8.5 million fine is in addition to the $8.7 million the PUCO ordered Ameritech in July 2000 to return to customers for missed or delayed installation and repair appointments. The commission had authorized a fine up to $122 million but said in January the smaller fine reflected progress the company had made in installation and repair calls.
Ameritech, a subsidiary of San Antonio-based SBC Communications, has 5 million phone lines in 61 Ohio counties, and also operates in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.
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