TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida's attorney general is joining consumer advocates in calling for Verizon to be fined for failing to repair phone lines quickly enough.

Attorney General Bill McCollum, the AARP, and Florida Public Counsel J.R. Kelly are asking regulators to slap the phone company with a $6.5 million fine.

They said Verizon repeatedly last year violated rules requiring that 95 percent of outages be fixed within 24 hours. They filed a complaint Thursday with the Florida Public Service Commission on the issue.

"Our request that Verizon be fined $6.5 million for failure to comply with the PSC repair rules should deliver a message to all Florida telecommunications companies that Florida consumers believe that service is important and that compliance with the PSC rules is essential," said Kelly, whose agency represents Florida utility customers. "Telecommunication companies should deliver the quality of service that consumers pay for, or face the consequences."

Verizon settled a similar complaint in 2001 for $2 million, and has been accused of being too slow on repairs in several other states as well.

The company released a statement saying it provided "great phone service" and was investing millions of dollars in its network.