BellSouth On Its Own Ethics

BellSouth has proven that it is less than a good corporate citizen of Lafayette and Louisiana. At every turn they've shown little respect for the process of democratic decision-making --and less for the people of our communities.

BellSouth's obstructionist tactics in Lafayette run counter to their stated corporate values.

Quoting from BellSouth's website (http://bellsouthcorp.com/whoweare/mission.vtml):

"Our Customers: We are driven by the needs of our customers. We understand our customers' needs and deliver innovative products and services to meet those needs.

• • •

"Our Communities: Everywhere we do business we strive to make our communities a better place to live, work and grow.

• • •

"Integrity: Every action we take reflects the highest ethical standards. We interact with our customers, our employees and our shareholders with honesty and integrity."

Throughout its fight against the LUS fiber initiative:

• BellSouth has never displayed an understanding of the need for abundant, affordable bandwidth in order for Lafayette to grow;
• BellSouth has ignored the community recognition that has developed in Lafayette about the importance of abundant, affordable bandwidth as an essential ingredient in enhancing the quality of life in Lafayette; and
• BellSouth has consistently displayed a lack of integrity and, in fact, has demonstrably acted in bad faith — first, trying to kill the project in the Louisiana Legislature before the council or the public had a chance to weigh its merits; second, filing suit to force a vote on the issue, then refusing to abide by the results; and, finally, resorting to baseless stalling tactics in the courts in direct contravention to the expressed will of our community as expressed in the July 16 fiber referendum.

Either these actions run counter to BellSouth's values or those stated values are a sham!