The Federal Regional Court of Brasília (TRF1) last week rejected an application from Brasil Telecom (BrT) to halt a court audit of its claim to have achieved the targets to which it?s committed as an incumbent local exchange carrier. In refusing BrT?s application, Judge Selene Almeida accepted Embratel?s argument that an audit should be conducted with all due speed, as originally agreed by Judge Jamil Rosa de Jesus of the 14th Court of the Federal District on August 18.
A court-appointed expert will perform the audit in a 15-town sample in the states of Acre, Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Tocantins. The long-distance carrier accuses BrT of not installing lines in every home in municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants, one of the universal-access targets for December 2001. The breach increased its expenditure on public payphones, Embratel alleges.
The court auditor is expected to start work in the next few weeks. Assistant auditors appointed by BrT, Embratel and Anatel will also take part in the inspections.
Competition
