Adelphia to end telecom services in Tri-Cities on Sept. 20
  
From Staff Reports

   NASHVILLE -- Customers who use Adelphia for their local and long distance telephone service are advised to begin shopping for another telecommunications service provider.
   The company will discontinue its service to the Tri-Cities as of Sept. 20, according to a statement released Thursday by the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA).
   The service stoppage comes following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Adelphia Business Solutions.
   Company officials recently advised the agency that it would discontinue providing telecom services in Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, and surrounding Tri-Cities areas no earlier than Sept. 20, according to the TRA.
   "Adelphia advised the TRA that it had notified its Tri-Cities customers of its plans to discontinue its telecommunications services," said TRA Consumer Services Division Chief Eddie Roberson in the TRA statement.
   "We simply wanted to go one step beyond their notification efforts to ensure that customers are indeed aware of the Sept. 20 deadline and advise them to make plans to find another company, if they have not already done so."
   Adelphia Communications Corp. announced in June that the company and more than 200 of its subsidiaries had filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
   A chapter 11 filing allows a company to continue operating its business and managing its assets in the ordinary course of business.
   Adelphia Business Solutions received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in August to close on a $15 million secured debtor-in-possession credit facility (the "Credit Facility") with Beal Capital Markets, Inc., of Plano, Texas, ("Beal").
   The company reported that in addition to modifications to its business plan, the credit facility would provide ABS with the necessary liquidity to emerge from bankruptcy.
   Founded in 1991, Adelphia Business Solutions is headquartered in Coudersport, Pa., providing local and long distance voice services, high-speed data and Internet services.
   The company has provided telecommunications services for several thousand business lines through the Tri-Cities area.
   To obtain a list of names and telephone numbers of alternate telecommunications service providers offering services in the Tri-Cities area, the TRA advised consumers to visit the agency's Web site at www.state.tn.us/tra/coninfo.htm. or for questions, call (800) 342-8359.