ceb@csli.stanford.edu (Charles Buckley) (08/23/89)
Pay phone rates and other operating company charges (like monthly subscriber rates) are subject to review by state organizations, called various things: Public Utilities Commision, State Utilities Commission, etc. These bodies are largely appointive, but can some times be elective. In the former case, an effort is made to get people with experience, in order to fairly review utilities applications for rate increases. While this sometimes leads to getting consumer advocates on the committee, more often than not it means former utility executives, who still have close ties to the industry. In the latter case, the office is not one of great interest to the voters, and extreme things can happen. When I want to size up how politics are played in any given state, I look at the UC as a good indicator. The results of utilities regulation varies widely from state to state - some states have been able to keep utilities costs under control through strong advocacy on the part of utilities commission members (e. g. California), while some states have rubber stamp utilities commissions which are at risk of being snowed by high flash presentations on the part of utilities. My home state fell into this category when I last lived there. If you want to do something about apparently outrageous utilities charges, such as $.35 payphones, forced business-line rates for BBS operators, lack of small-count multi-line discounts, etc., your state utility commission are the people to turn to. Bashing the phone company won't help - they're essentially businessmen, and thrive on the adversarial pressure. I never see anyone holding the latest dealings of the various utilities commissions up to public scrutiny on this newsgroup. I find that somewhat strange. [Moderator's Note: This newsgroup began as a *technical* forum relating to telecommunications. It has only been in the past year or so that the incoming mail has gotten away from strictly technical issues and become much more political in nature. The way it has gotten is due in large part to divestiture and the competition available. The activities of the PUC's are very important and newsworthy and should receive regular coverage and conversation. It is just something I don't have time to cover or type in. If you, and other users with interest in this area will supply factual messages relating to the PUC's, I will be glad to print them; and this is a good forum for such discussions. PT]