Keep the phone lines open!
Last week, the Senate Economic Development Committee approved Senate Bill 88, the bill written by AT&T that would end the right of Kentuckians to obtain stand-alone basic telephone service. The full Senate passed the bill 24-13 on Thursday.
The telecom industry tried to get this bill passed last year, but Kentuckians all over the state spoke out against it and it was pulled. The industry is back again this year in full force, and your voice is needed.
Call the toll-free message line at 1-800-372-7181, and leave a message for the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee. Tell them, "Keep our phone lines open! Don't let AT&T's Senate Bill 88 pass."
Senate Bill 88 would:
- weaken consumer protection, by eliminating the regulatory power of the Public Service Commission over the reliability of basic local service;
- allow AT&T, Windstream and Cincinnati Bell to substitute less reliable wireless voice service for highly reliable landline basic phone service;
- end the right to obtain stand-alone basic phone service; and
- lessen public safety by allowing basic landline service to be replaced by wireless service that may not support home alarm systems.
What are the details of the bill?
- AT&T, Windstream, and Cincinnati Bell could immediately stop offering stand-alone basic local telephone service to any new residences, and to all existing customers in exchanges with more than 5,000 housing units.
- In exchanges with less than 5,000 housing units, those companies could immediately cease providing stand-alone landline basic phone service if they offer an “alternative voice service” (such as wireless “voice” service) or they could petition the state Public Service Commission to be relieved of the obligation to provide basic telephone service by meeting certain criteria regarding other providers of voice service in the area.
- “Voice service” can be provided through “any technology or service arrangement” that includes voice grade access, minutes of use for local service provided at no additional charge to end users, and access to the emergency services such as 911. Basic local service would no longer be required to be offered on a stand-alone basis, and could be “bundled” with other services that the customer might not need, nor be able to afford.
- The Public Service Commission would lose all regulatory authority to mandate levels of reliability and service, and could only “assist” in the resolution of consumer complaints. The PSC would also lose power to investigate and order the resolution of broadband complaints.
Sandi Joiner, a member in Barren County, tells this story about why she opposes the AT&T bill:
"Before my husband died he wanted to go fishing. Because his health was so bad he got a cell phone so he could call for help if necessary. When he told the clerk why he wanted the phone, she asked where he would be fishing. When he told her Green River, she told him she did not know how well the phone would work since the river normally runs between two hills.
"The clerk gave him a little something to add to the phone for help, but he found he usually couldn't get service. Actually, one time he called me from a landline at a grocery to tell me he had forgotten his key.
"I was never able to reach him on his cell phone until I could actually see his truck and boat.
"I'm telling this story because I believe that many parts of Kentucky are mostly 'hills and hollers.' Sometimes people in charge miss obvious things."
Make your call today!
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