Qwest Rejoins U.S. Telecom Assn.
Qwest Communications is rejoining the U.S. Telecom Association as high-speed Internet issues take on a higher profile in Washington. The Denver-based telecommunications firm, which provides local service in 14 western states, left the association eight years ago "because we believed it to be in our best interests to do so at that time," a company spokesman said Friday. He declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the split but a 2001 Washington Post story shed some light on the rift: "Depending on whom you talk to, USTA either suspended [Qwest] for not paying its rather hefty dues or the company quit the group after growing apart." At the time, Qwest's annual dues were nearly $800,000, but the company had negotiated a 25 percent reduction, the article said.
Regardless of their checkered past, Qwest and U.S. Telecom have formally reunited and Friday marked "a big day for the broadband community," the association's chairman, Ron McCue said in a press release. "Our member companies - large and small, urban and rural - are united by a shared commitment to delivering the broadband future across America," he said. McCue noted that his organization and its member companies have been working closely with Qwest on key industry issues for a number of years and "at this critical time for our nation, its economy and American innovation, it is very meaningful that this industry is joining together in a common bond." The Obama administration recently released guidelines for its $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program, which has a number of corporations licking their chops.
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