Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Telephone companies' lobbying to be free of state rules prompts much concern among rural customers

Many states have deregulated land-line service, allowing them to drop the service, and more states are being lobbied hard top join the list. Some rural customers fear they will be left with substandard service. We have reported on the long-running debate; this is an update.

For example, a bill in Kansas would relieve phone companies of having to follow state rules protecting consumers from fraud and abusive billing practices, reports Dion Lefler of The Kansas City Star. It would also relieve AT&T of having to provide phone service to poor people on Lifeline subsidies or difficult-to-serve rural customers.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/03/09/4110718/kansas-senate-to-debate-att-bill.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/03/09/4110718/kansas-senate-to-debate-att-bill.html#storylink=cpyto provide phone service to poor people on Lifeline subsidies or difficult-to-serve rural customers, writes Dion Lefler of The Kansas City Star.

A bill in Kentucky would allow telephone companies to stop offering land-line service to new customers in unprofitable parts of the state, especially in rural areas, reports Jack Brammer of the Lexington Herald-Leader. The bill would also allow companies to drop land-line services if there were comparable telephone services — such as cellular service — in an area. 

Kentucky House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark even went so far as to say AT&T was using automated phone calls to threaten lawmakers who vote against the bill. AT&T denied making automated calls.

The bill has provoked much ire in rural areas, and stories from AT&T customers about poor wireless service. Michael Caudill of Whitesburg, Ky., wrote: "We went to a local AT&T wireless store to replace my wife's cell phone. The clerk suggested we try their wireless receiver system for our home phone. Of course, it was supposed to be fantastic and give a 60 percent savings. It took 10 minutes to switch our land line to the wireless system, but when it proved to be unsuitable for us, it took over two weeks to reactivate our land line, and almost three months to straighten out the bill." (Read more)

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