W8SDZ@SIMTEL20.ARPA.UUCP (08/15/87)
A letter from Telenet to Pc Pursuit users:
August 12, 1987
Dear PC Enthusiast:
Six weeks ago we wrote to many of you about the Federal
Communication Commission's (FCC) proposal to extend carrier access
charges to Telenet and other enhanced service providers. In that
letter, and in subsequent conversations with many of you, we
promised to provide additional information when the FCC published
its official notice -- which occurred on July 17.
The following documents are available on PC Pursuit's Net
Exchange BBS: (1) a copy of the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rule Making
(NPRM) and (2) a paper that both analyzes the NPRM as it affects PC
users and suggests steps that you can take to help defeat the access
charge proposal, thus ensuring the continued availability of low-cost
information and data communications services.
Access charges would affect all interstate data communications
utilizing local dial access to reach a public on-line computer
service, e.g., a database or electronic mail service, home
banking/shopping service, or videotex service. Access charges would
also apply to services such as PC Pursuit, provided by a value-added
network (VAN) like Telenet, that utilize local dial access. These
charges would add approximately $4.50 per hour to the cost of
connections involving only dial-in access (e.g., a PC dialing into
the Telenet network to reach a database host), and would add
approximately $7 to $9 per hour to the cost of connections involving
both dial-in and dial-out access (such as PC Pursuit, for PC-to-PC
communications). Further, unlike most communications prices, access
charges have no discounts for evening and weekend hours. Services
currently priced at a flat monthly rate would have to be repriced on
an hourly basis under access charges.
For those of you who are current PC Pursuit subscribers, access
charges would require Telenet to increase its prices (currently, a
flat monthly rate of $25) to reflect the $7 or $9 per-hour access
charge. Of course, we expect that the significantly higher prices
would dampen demand for the service, so it is not clear whether
Telenet could continue to make PC Pursuit available even for those
users willing to pay the higher prices.
PC users who subscribe to database services such as The Source,
CompuServe, or Quantum would incur access charges on those services
of approximately $4.50 per hour -- effectively doubling the current
rate for some services.
This need not occur. We can defeat the access charge proposal
with your help. By writing a letter to the Chairman of the FCC and
sending copies to the other Commissioners, the Secretary, the Chief
of the Common Carrier Bureau, and your Congressional
representatives, you can affect the outcome of this issue. Both the
FCC and the Congress are receptive to your input. Moreover, they
need to hear from you in order to assess the impact of this proposal.
Your letter should emphasize how access charges would affect
you. Tell the FCC what database, bulletin board, or data
communications services you use today and for what purposes, what
your monthly usage level is, what you pay now, and how access
charges (at approximately $4.50 per hour of use for database host
access, and twice that for PC Pursuit) would impact your use of
these services.
Our analysis paper includes the names and addresses of the
relevant parties to whom you can write. As indicated above, it is
perfectly acceptable for you to write one letter to the Chairman of
the Federal Communications Commission and to copy all other
parties. Names and addresses of U.S. Senators are included here;
for the name of your Congressional representative, contact your
local library or Chamber of Commerce. Telenet would appreciate
having a blind copy of your letter for use in our lobbying efforts.
and we have enclosed a business reply envelope for your convenience
in sending us one.
Please note that the FCC has extended the due dates for comments
and reply comments in this proceeding to September 24 and October
26, respectively. You need not wait for these dates, however; your
letter can be sent immediately.
Please continue to access PC Pursuit's Net Exchange BBS for
updates on the FCC access charge proposal using the following
sign-on procedure:
@C(sp)PURSUIT, YOUR ID, YOUR PASSWORD
or dial 703-689-3561 with your modem.
Write today. Your letter can make the difference! With your
help, this proposal can be defeated!
Sincerely,
Paolo L. Guidi
President