9. Comments

The draft decision of the Administrative Law Judge in this matter was mailed to the parties in accordance with Pub. Util. Code § 311(g) and Rule 77.7 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure.⁹² The ALJ Ruling of October 2, 2002 granted Qwest's request for an extension of the time for filing comments. CBC and AT&T (filing jointly) and Qwest provided comments on October 15, 2002.⁹³

CBC and AT&T's comments expressed support for the proposed decision. Qwest argued that the proposed decision was premature, and asked for an opportunity to conduct discovery. Qwest argued that the testimony provided by

AT&T was self-serving, and that cross-examination was needed to develop a full record.

In response to Qwest's arguments, we note that the reasoning in the decision demonstrates the adequacy of the information to our determinations. In addition, we note much of the key financial information provided by AT&T and CBC is filed with Federal agencies and publicly available pursuant to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although recent experience has indicated that such information can be subject to falsification, there is no allegation in this proceeding of any misconduct. Furthermore, the financial data were collected before the merger was contemplated. In addition, we note that the Commission has frequently relied on information similar to that provided here to determine whether to authorize a change in control and has accepted a record such as this as adequate.

CBC and AT&T jointly filed Reply Comments on October 21, 2002 arguing that the record in this proceeding is adequate.

In addition to the changes discussed explicitly, we have read the comments and replies and revised the proposed decision as appropriate.