BellSouth Says Reform of Universal Service Needed to Rescue Fund From 'Life Support' WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- BACKGROUND -- Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., introduced legislation on July 29th addressing the universal service fund which helps keep basic telephone service affordable for rural and low-income Americans. The following statement may be attributed to Herschel Abbott, BellSouth vice president - governmental affairs: "The changes in the technologies of communication have put the universal service fund on life support. This legislation recognizes the problems that need to be addressed and offers well-reasoned solutions. These solutions may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the legislation is a very fine start. Universal Service reform will need to be included in comprehensive telecommunications legislation. This bill represents an enormous step forward." DATASOURCE: BellSouth CONTACT: Joe Chandler of BellSouth Media Relations, +1-404-829-8700, or Web site: http://www.bellsouth.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/095650.html

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