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Fwd: Pac Bell proposing BASIC PLUS service which would include Internet access
From: David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 1994 05:00:59 -0500
PACIFIC BELL ANNOUNCES VISION FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE; Proposes choice of two basic service packages LOS ANGELES--Feb. 16, 1994-Speaking at a public hearing held by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Pacific Bell's Charles Smith, vice president and general manager for the Los Angeles region, announced Pacific Bell's vision of universal service for the Information Age. "Information technology must be used to advance social integration,not to push it backward," said Smith. "Our company does not takeAmerica's social integration goals lightly. On the contrary, we takeit as our responsibility to contribute, and we understand that ourcapacity to contribute is great," he said. Smith pointed out that Pacific Bell provides discounted telephone service for low income customers who qualify, and in fact, serves more Universal Lifeline Telephone Service customers than all 1400 local phone companies in the country combined. In describing Pacific Bell's vision for universal service, Smith explained that the company believes there should be a choice of two basic service packages, both available to all customers and with Lifeline plans for both: - BASIC SERVICE - to include voice grade dial tone, touch tone, access to 9-1-1 emergency services, the Operator, 4-1-1 Information, 6-1-1 repair service and annual white page directories. - BASIC PLUS - to include user-friendly access to wideband services, such as databases and the Internet. This service, available to everyone, would be optional at the customer's request and would cost more than basic service. Pacific Bell's proposal for two basic service packages is supportive of the California Public Utility Commission's (CPUC) position taken in its recent infrastructure report to the Governor. In Smith's statement at the public hearing, he also discussed the subsidy issue, saying "whatever subsidies are raised should be collected in a competitively neutral way from ALL companies that supply telecommunications in any form. We leave unresolved the question of precisely when a provider of local service assumes the obligation of providing universal service, but there should be no threshold below which a provider can escape the obligation to contribute toward the support of low-income customers," he said. Smith also talked about Pacific Bell's announcement Monday to put$100 million into a program for school and library digital wiring. "We believe there should be special discount rates for public schools, libraries, hospitals and clinics," he said. "We will seek a discount school rate from the Public Utilities Commission immediately. All 7400 locations will be wired in less than three years." In closing, Smith emphasized two other core beliefs: - Pacific Bell believes in open access for the purpose of providing information, as well as for the purpose of buying it. - Pacific Bell believes we'll need public electronic libraries, just as we've needed public libraries in the paper world. Pacific Bell is a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Group, a diversified worldwide telecommunications corporation based in San Francisco. CONTACT: Pacific Bell Gary Sanderson, 213/975-4074 Charlene Baldwin, 415/542-4640
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- Fwd: Pac Bell proposing BASIC PLUS service which would include Internet access David Farber (Feb 17)