Call to action to keep rural phone lines open!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11:30 a.m., a state Senate committee might vote on a bill that would make remove the obligation for phone carriers to provide service to people in Kentucky's rural communities. This would include 911 services.

Letcher County member Mimi Pickering says, "This bill harms not only rural people living in remote areas but all low-income folks, those on fixed–incomes, and seniors who could lose the option of having a lower cost telephone line that is regulated by the PSC."

Kentucky Resources Council opposes SB 135, and has suggested that people call in to the Legislative Message Line at 1-800-372-7181. Tell them that you want to leave a message for the "Members of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor," for your own state senator, and for "Senate leadership." Ask them to reject SB 135, and to reaffirm the importance to Kentuckians of access to dependable, affordable, basic telephone service.

You can find more information about KRC's stance here on their website.

And here is an analysis from the Rural Assembly Broadband Policy Group:

The Rural Assembly's Rural Broadband Policy Group believes that access to basic telephone service is a non-negotiable necessity for all Americans, particularly for folks in rural and remote communities.

A harmful bill is before the Kentucky Legislature this week that threatens rural Kentuckians' basic telephone service, including 911 emergency service.  Senate Bill 135 would remove the obligation of AT&T, Windstream, and Cincinnati Bell to provide service to the most remote areas of the state. The committee could vote as early as Tuesday the 28th.

Basic telephone service is sometimes the only point of access for rural communities across the country.   As rural constituents, we ask you to express your concern over the negative impact that SB 135 will have on rural, remote, and poor communities in Kentucky, especially at a time when poverty rates are statistically high, jobs are scarce, and Kentuckians cannot afford to lose yet another resource.
 
We are extremely worried that SB 135 will:

• Leave low-income and fixed-income Kentuckians without access to basic phone service, including 911-emergency service.
• Leave customers at the mercy of a utility and its affiliated companies to raise the price for basic service in an area where no other competitor exists.
• Allow possible "redlining" of poor and remote communities where providing service is more costly or higher-maintenance.
• Strip the Public Service Commission of its authority to protect costumers by investigating complaints regarding basic telephone service quality.
• Carriers could decide to abandon or retire their wirelines, resulting in loss of access to vulnerable customers by the competitors.

You can help us STOP this legislation by taking action. Call the Legislative Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 and leave a message for the "Committee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor" plus your own Senator.  

While KFTC has not had the opportunity to taken a position on SB 135, it seems likely that this bill would impact several of the communities where our members live.

The committee meeting is at 11:30 in the morning, so call in first thing if you want to weigh in!