
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 16, 1993                   TAG: 9310160108
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

U.S. PLANS TO APPEAL PHONE-CABLE RULING

The Justice Department said Friday it will appeal the court decision allowing regional telephone companies to provide cable service in the same areas that they offer phone service.

The appeal of the ruling by a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., was expected by the telephone industry, including the Bell Atlantic Corp.

The company won the decision last summer and this week announced a $30 billion merger with Tele-Communications Inc., the nation's biggest cable TV operator,

Bell Atlantic spokesman Dave Sewall in Philadelphia said, "We expect that it will be handled quickly, and we expect that it will be disposed of in a way favorable to Bell Atlantic."

He noted that his company's announcement of the TCI merger said it did not plan to retain the TCI properties within Bell Atlantic's territory, "So I don't think it's a concern."

If the appeal should favor the phone companies, Sewall said, he believes Bell Atlantic would have the option to keep all the TCI properties, but had no plans to do so.

The merger is expected to be completed next year.

TCI was also optimistic.

"Our position on this is what the courts say about this particular area of the law is not really that important," said spokesman Bob Thomson in Denver.

by CNB