Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 1 · column 5 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
By LOU HATTER
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Equal access has finally come to Rappahannock.
For some time, commercials advertising the benefits of one longdistance telephone company over another have been playing on television and radio, and prominently displayed in newspapers and magazines. But, until now, Rappahannock County residents have not had a choice. AT&T was the only longdistance service available.
That is about to change.
Customers in the Sperryville (987) exchange in the county are now being asked to choose between three long-distance carriers: AT&T Long Distance Service (which presently serves the entire county), ITT Longer Distance Service, or MCI Dial “1” Long Distance Service.
All customers who will be offered equal access have recently received an equal access ballot which contains the names of the three companies. According to the instructions, the ballot must be returned by Feb. 9, or a long-distance company will be assigned at random. Equal access service will begin March 1.
The long-distance company, whether selected or assigned, will serve each customer just as AT&T does now. To make long-distance calls the dialing procedure will remain the same. The call will automatically be switched to the customer’s long-distance network.
Most long-distance calls are now handled by several different systems. Each company runs a “backbone” line, which handles the call for most of its distance. But, each company also must usually lease another company’s lines to complete the connection to the call’s destination.
For example, a call from Washington to San Francisco may be handled by one company as it travels from Washington to Chicago, then be switched to a second company, whose network might serve calls routed from Chicago to San Francisco.
Calls within the Local Access and Transport Area (LATA) served by C&P Telephone will continue to be handled by that company, including toll calls made by Centel customers in the Washington (675) exchange.
The Culpeper LATA covers most
92.2%