dross@cs.wisc.edu (Dan Ross) (10/20/90)
[Insert in Wisconsin Bell October 1990 bill (Oktoberbill?)]
[sections in brackets are paraphrased/abbreviated]
Information About Telephone Rate and Service Changes
The Public Service Commision (PSC) of Wisconsin, in Docket
6720-TR-104, has approved changes to residential telephone service
that will be effective, by bill date, beginning October 1, 1990. In
addition, the PSC has approved other changes that will take place at
later dates. Following is an explanation of the changes:
Current Credit
[a $0.53 per line credit eliminated]
Touch-Tone Service
Effective in October, 1990, Wisconsin Bell has eliminated the $1.50
per month charge for residential touch-tone service.
Customers who _currently_have_ the service don't need to do anything.
You will continue to have the service, but at no extra charge.
For customers who _do_not_ have the service now, the company will be
adding equipment to its offices over the coming months to convert all
customer lines to touch-tone service. You will be notified when your
line is converted. If you want the service sooner, please contact
your business office. There will be no charge to add the service.
Calls to Information
Effective in October, 1990, the charge for calls to Information (1+411
and 1+555+1212) will increase from the current 25 cents per call to 35
cents per call. As before, customers may request two listing on each
call. Also, customers who make at least one Wisconsin Bell intraLATA
long distance call during a billing period will receive one free call
to Information during that time.
The current exemptions from the charge will remain, including: calls
for numbers not in the current [printed] directory, calls from coin
phones and hospital rooms, and calls from certified blind or other
disabled customers who are not able to use the directory.
Work Charges
[increases in technicians' in-home work rates]
Zero Allowance and 20 Call Service
[Two local calling services not offered since August, 1987 are
cancelled, and remaining customers switched to Basic Call Plan ($6/mo
+ $0.09/call)]
Future Change in Local Usage Service
[elimination of all residential local call plans; replacement with
"Volume Discount Plan," with sliding scaled prices on calls, in
addition to $9.50/mo charge. PSC requires Wisc Bell to implement this
no later than July 1, 1992; no decision on when it will happen.]
Number of Local Calls Made Price per Local Call
1 - 60 6 cents each
61- 150 5 "
151-300 4 "
301-400 3 "
401-1200 2 "
1201 and up 5 cents each
[Example paraphrased: 70 calls cost 60*0.06 + 10*0.05 = $4.10]
====end of insert====
My comments:
Do other phone companies keep track of whether numbers are "in the
book," and charge accordingly, or do they just charge for all calls to
Information? I'd had the impression it was the latter. (I'd like to
see no charges for calls to Information when they don't have the
number or can't give it out, since the information one has bought
isn't useful ... of course, they have to pay people.)
I ordered Touch-Tone on Thursday, and will have it Friday. I had not
ordered it as a protest against charging extra for something which
(according to what I'd read) was _cheaper_ to provide! Have other
areas eliminated the charge?
"Volume Discount" means no more unlimited call plans! And yes, for
1201 and up, that is FIVE cents per call. I guess they figure there's
people who call a lot, and then there's people who call A LOT (40
calls a day seems kind of high for a "residence." :)
When a PSC/PUC "orders" something like this, is it because they want
customers to pay for usage "more fairly" (i.e., we modem users tote
our load), or is it other reasons?
Dan Ross dross@cs.wisc.edu ..!uwvax!drossjohn@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) (10/22/90)
Dan Ross <dross@cs.wisc.edu> writes: > I ordered Touch-Tone on Thursday, and will have it Friday. I had not > ordered it as a protest against charging extra for something which > (according to what I'd read) was _cheaper_ to provide! Have other > areas eliminated the charge? Over a year ago, Pac*Bell offered, among other things, to eliminate the touch tone charges and convert Zone 2 calling areas to Zone 1 (local) if the PUC would allow the company to operate under the "blank check" school of regulation. That was August of 1989. It is now October of 1990. They got "blank check" regulation. We're still waiting for the charges to be dropped. It is amazing to talk to people who are convinced that the charges have already been dropped. Pac*Bell's advertising and media campaign was so effective that just yesterday I astounded a rather telecom-savvy person with the revelation that he was still paying touch tone charges. Pac*Bell's excuse is that it is still trying to figure out how to replace the revenue that will be lost by removing the charge. Someday people will learn that Pac*Bell is long on promises but short on delivery. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
carols@world.std.com (Carol Springs) (10/23/90)
In Vol. 10, Issue 750, Dan Ross quotes from his Wisconsin Bell insert: >Touch-Tone Service >Effective in October, 1990, Wisconsin Bell has eliminated the $1.50 >per month charge for residential touch-tone service. >I ordered Touch-Tone on Thursday, and will have it Friday. I had not >ordered it as a protest against charging extra for something which >(according to what I'd read) was _cheaper_ to provide! Have other >areas eliminated the charge? As of October 19, New England Telephone has *raised* monthly touch-tone from 58 cents to 98 cents. Toll charges within area codes 617 and 508 (eastern Mass.) have been lowered: Distance (miles) First minute Each additional minute Day Evening Night/Wknd Day Even'g Night/Wknd 0-10 0.19 0.124 0.076 0.09 0.059 0.036 11-14 0.26 0.169 0.104 0.12 0.078 0.048 15-up 0.32 0.208 0.128 0.14 0.091 0.056 Various other rate changes have been implemented. These include rate increases for the various classes of service (e.g., an increase of about $3/mo. for basic residential Unlimited Service) and the elimination of the 30 message unit allowance on Measured Service. On the plus side, toll-free local calling has been expanded to include bordering exchanges in all cases. As I understand things, NET had considered charging for 411 directory assistance, but this proved to be a political no-no. Guess where the money is coming from instead? Carol Springs carols@world.std.com
eddy@jafus.mi.org (Eddy J. Gurney) (10/26/90)
In article <13855@accuvax.nwu.edu> dross@cs.wisc.edu (Dan Ross) writes: >Future Change in Local Usage Service >[elimination of all residential local call plans; replacement with >"Volume Discount Plan," with sliding scaled prices on calls, in >addition to $9.50/mo charge. PSC requires Wisc Bell to implement this >no later than July 1, 1992; no decision on when it will happen.] >Number of Local Calls Made Price per Local Call > 1 - 60 6 cents each > 61- 150 5 " > 151-300 4 " > 301-400 3 " > 401-1200 2 " > 1201 and up 5 cents each >[Example paraphrased: 70 calls cost 60*0.06 + 10*0.05 = $4.10] Yuck. I certainly hope this isn't a trend that's going to happened everywhere. Unlimited local calling is a "must" for people with uucp connections or what have you. For example, over the summer, my roommate and I both had a U*ix box in our bedrooms. We both called once an hour - me on the hour, him on the half hour. We got our phone bill the next month, and the kind souls at Michigan Bell told us we had made something like 1,456 local calls. At that calling rate, that's $72.80, FOR LOCAL CALLS! Pretty ridiculous, if you ask me. (I know, how often are you going to have two uucp systems that poll hourly on the same residential line ... but it CAN happen. :-) I like unlimited local calling. I'd rather pay for touch tone and still have that option available than get touch tone for free and have to pay for all the local calls my computer makes. Eddy J. Gurney N8FPW THE ECCENTRICITY GROUP eddy@jafus.mi.org gurney@frith.egr.msu.edu 17158EJG@MSU.BITNET (Preferred) (If your mail bounces) (If you HAVE to :-)
dross@cambizola.cs.wisc.edu (Dan Ross) (11/01/90)
In article <14022@accuvax.nwu.edu> eddy@jafus.mi.org (Eddy J. Gurney) writes: >X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 763, Message 2 of 10 >In article <13855@accuvax.nwu.edu> I (dross@cs.wisc.edu) write: >Future Change in Local Usage Service >>[elimination of all residential local call plans; replacement with >>"Volume Discount Plan," with sliding scaled prices on calls...] >I like unlimited local calling. I'd rather pay for touch tone and >still have that option available than get touch tone for free and have >to pay for all the local calls my computer makes. > Eddy J. Gurney N8FPW THE ECCENTRICITY GROUP I don't know that the tariff was trading unlimited calling for touch-tone. Even if it was, unlimited calling puts a load on the local phone network (if taken advantage of), contrasted with touch-tone which costs the phone company nothing (at this point). I was getting pretty tired of waiting for my push- button phone to complete the dialling sequence, but didn't see why the phone company should charge for touch-tone when the equipment had been already put in place. Dan Ross dross@cs.wisc.edu
john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) (11/02/90)
Dan Ross <dross@cambizola.cs.wisc.edu> writes: > I don't know that the tariff was trading unlimited calling for > touch-tone. Even if it was, unlimited calling puts a load on the > local phone network (if taken advantage of), contrasted with > touch-tone which costs the phone company nothing (at this point). Since this country can't seem to get off the 'business day' mentality (that gives rise to traffic jams, both automobile and telephone, and lowers general overall productivity), why not take advantage of it? A number of years ago, Pac*Bell experimented with a plan that allowed residence subscribers unlimited BAY AREA calling (that's right, San Jose to San Rafael) between 5 PM and 8 AM and all weekend. During the business day it was gougem toll as usual. Calls made during the off hours didn't even show up on the bill. From a reality standpoint this would make sense, since during off-business hours, the network is just loafing with a good deal of excess capacity. So the logical question to be asked is, "Why can't the telcos come up with an off-peak unlimited local calling plan?" Instead of eliminating unlimited altogether, as in some areas of the country, why not make it time of day sensitive? Evening "peak" residential use runs a poor second to the ordinary business day use. Telcos should charge MUCH less for this, since it puts no strain on capacity whatsoever. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !