AT&T and the trustee of the liquidated Halo Wireless submitted...
AT&T and the trustee of the liquidated Halo Wireless submitted a joint motion to settle their dispute before the California Public Utilities Commission, according to a filing released Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bnsgrg). Halo’s July liquidation caused AT&T and the trustee to develop…
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this joint settlement to avoid litigation costs and encourage administrative efficiency, said the document. AT&T is troubled because Halo was “(i) sending landline-originated traffic to AT&T, (ii) sending inaccurate call information to AT&T, and (iii) refusing to pay for interconnection facilities,” the proposal said. AT&T cites other state proceedings in which state utility commissions ruled against Halo for violating interconnection agreements and skirting access charges (CD Aug 2 p8). The settlement establishes that Halo “materially breached” the interconnection agreement and is liable for certain, unspecified charges. Halo Wireless proceedings also continue in Arkansas and Texas. The Arkansas Public Service Commission had called for both Halo Wireless and the PSC tax division to submit their cases by Tuesday to resolve a dispute Halo raised this summer about what it argued was a high tax assessment. Neither party filed arguments, as Halo has been liquidated and the tax division has repeatedly insisted Halo bears the burden of proof in regards to its claim, not the tax assessors. The tax division told the PSC Tuesday it won’t be filing any initial brief but reserves the right to file testimony by Oct. 9 (http://xrl.us/bnsgr9). Eastex Telephone Cooperative asked the Texas Public Utility Commission for compulsory arbitration regarding its concerns with Halo’s interconnection agreements in a Tuesday filing (http://xrl.us/bnsgtx).