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From: ggr@pyuxbb.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.misc,att.general
Subject: Access Charge Legislation
Message-ID: <176@pyuxbb.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 30-Sep-83 18:36:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxbb.176
Posted: Fri Sep 30 18:36:40 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 2-Oct-83 07:26:01 EDT
Reply-To: prnews@whuxg.UUCP
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Piscataway
Lines: 63

/***** whuxh:pr.presstp / mhwpd!prnews / 10:42 am  Sep 28, 1983*/
LOCAL PHONE FEES FACE A FREEZE BY SENATE PANEL,
Wall Street Journal, 9/28, p.7. The Senate Com-
merce  Committee yesterday informally agreed on
legislation that would: place a two-year mora-
torium on access charges for residential and
small business telephone lines but allow them to
begin for larger companies; instruct the FCC to
develop a new plan for allocating local tele-
phone costs by March l; and, establish a $400 million
universal service fund. A formal vote is sched-
uled for later this week.  AT&T's response is
that congressional delay of the FCC plan would
stymie $l.75 billion in long distance rate cuts
planned for January.
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/***** whuxh:pr.presstp / mhwpd!prnews / 10:19 am  Sep 29, 1983*/
HOUSE UNIT BARS NEW PHONE FEE FOR HOME USERS,
Wall Street Journal, 9/28, p. 16.  A House
subcommittee, by a vote of 10-5, has approved a
bill that would allow FCC-established access
charges to take effect next year only for
businesses, not residential customers. The bill,
a compromise between bills proposed
by Reps. Wirth and  Dingell and an amendment by
Rep.Markey, would make up for the lost
residential fees by continuing extra charges
added to long-distance service and by expanding
assessments established by the FCC against
businesses that build private networks. The FCC
contends that its access charge order represents
a fair system of pricing and will lower the cost
of long-distance service.  According to the FCC
plan, residential fees would reach about $8
per month, adjusted for inflation, in six years.
Members of both House and Senate argue that the
plan overburdens residential users.
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/***** whuxh:pr.intinf / mhwpd!prnews / 10:47 am  Sep 29, 1983*/
HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES
BILL, AT&T pr, 9/28.  An amended version of
Rep. Wirth's bill barring imposition of access
charges on residence customers was approved by
a vote of 10-5 along party lines.  The bill now
moves to the full House Commerce Committee.
The bill establishes a universal service fund
for high-cost areas, makes provision for
lifeline service for low-income users, and
levies charges on bypassers.  AT&T commented
that some House members are "trying to create
chaos out of order and just three months before
the dilemma in telecommunications was expected
to be resolved in a competitive market environ-
ment....These members are rejecting what they
have been urging for the past decade....And, in
a strange convolution, the bill even
discriminates among rural customers," since all
would contribute to the universal service fund
but not all would benefit by it.
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