It's unlikely AT&T will be sending a holiday card to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. He is now asking utility regulators to investigate AT&T, after the company changed its processes for putting contract work out to bid.
The AG filed his petition with the state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) on Oct. 2, in response to a letter from the Utility Contractors Association of Connecticut that claims the new electronic bidding process AT&T adopted in June keeps the winning bidder and bid secret. The letter claims that, since the change in procedures, most AT&T bid contracts are going to out-of-state contractors.
Blumenthal states that he is concerned that AT&T's bidding policies are not open and transparent.
AT&T said the bid process has been changed to make it more fair and cost-effective. The system has been used in 21 other states; within Connecticut, 80 percent of the AT&T contracts awarded under the new system have gone to Connecticut companies.
The state of Connecticut has a set of long-festering complaints against AT&T, including a failure to repair landline service in a timely fashion, long "on-hold" times when customers call for repairs and a series of AT&T cuts moving customer service and call center jobs out of state.
For more:
- The Republican-American reports on Conn. AG tactics against AT&T
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