Some Moscow GTE customers received notice of this change this week, but
there has been no mention of it in local newspapers (as of Wednesday).
As part of a plan reorganizing "local calling areas" in northern Idaho,
GTE wants to drop free calls to Pullman from the basic Moscow service.
This would reverse a hard-fought campaign of the early 1980s, and would
be a setback to efforts to bring the two communities closer together.
Currently, Moscow residents pay a flat rate of $14.60 for a one-party
residential service. This includes calls to Moscow, Pullman and Garrison,
WA, the border areas like the former U-Cities Supply.
Under the new system, customers would have 3 options:
* Basic calling, $8 a month, with local calls billed at 5 cents per initial
minute, 2 cents for each additional minute.
* Community calling, $14 a month, unlimited calls to Moscow and Garrison
BUT not to Pullman. Calls to Pullman would be billed at 7 cents per
initial minute plus 2 cents per additional minute.
* "Community plus," $16.20 per month, which includes not only Moscow and
Pullman, but also Genesee, Deary-Bovill and Potlatch in the free calling
area.
The letter and rate charts are somewhat confusing. Don't be misled...
the $14 per month community calling appears to be a rate cut, but actually
represents a signficant reduction in service. The $16.20 per month
actually represents a $1.60 per month increase to maintain the current
toll-free calling between Pullman and Moscow.
I have been unable to find out whether GTE proposes similar changes in the
calling area and rates for its Washington customers. Perhaps someone in
Pullman has received a similar notice.
I can understand the desire of Potlatch, Genesee and Deary-Bovill residents
to be included in the Moscow calling area. However, I think that should
be an option for them and not lumped together with the Moscow-Pullman
area. For example, I have not called to Genesee or Deary in the past year,
and have called Potlatch twice in the past year. However, I make between
10 and 12 calls a week to Pullman.
If this proposal is implemented, it has the potential to raise telephone
bills for everyone who lives in Moscow and works in Pullman, and vice versa.
WSU has nearly 1,000 employees who live in Latah County.
Offering an extra level of service and then using it to justify higher rates
is similar to what the cable TV companies do: forcing subscribers to buy
the entire cable package when all they want is CNN. I will be forced to
pay for a service I don't need and won't use -- calls to Genesee, Potlatch
and Deary -- in order to obtain one that I will use -- calls to Pullman.
I spoke to an investigator of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission today,
and she said if sufficient protests are received, the PUC might hold a
hearing on this proposal. Comments need to be sent by Jan. 18, 1996 to:
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
PO Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0074
You can also call the PUC toll free at 1-800-432-0369, although they
would prefer to have the comments in writing.
I encourage anyone who shares my sentiments to write or call the PUC,
and respond via e-mail to me, so that we can assess community response.
Please forward this to other lists to which Moscow residents subscribe.
Don't let GTE reverse 10 years of community cooperation!
Kenton Bird
(kbird@wsu.edu)