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Low income rales
RICHMOND — More affordable local telephone service for Virginians \yith low incomes will be offered under a plan announced by the State Corporation Commission.
The SCC said Friday it requested the state’s 20 local exchange telephone companies to submit a “Virginia Universal Service Plan.” The plan will offer low-priced basic phone service to state residents whose income is at or below the poverty level.
“TTie introduction of Universal Service Plans by Virginia’s local exchange companies ensures that everyone will have access to local phone service,” SCC Commissioner Preston C. Shannon said.
The state’s five imgor phone companies filed tariffs for Universal Service with the SCC Friday, said SCC spokesman Ken Schrad. The plan, which would also offer reduced service connection and line connection charges, will be available no later than Jan. 1,1988, Schrad said.
There is no estimate as to how many Virginians would qualify to apply for the service, Schrad said. Industry representatives, the SCC and the secretary of human resources will negotiate eligibility requirements, he said.
The five companies that filed tariffs were: Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia, Continental Telephone of Virginia, Central Telephone Co. of Virginia, General Telephone Co. of the Southeast and United Inter-Mountain Telephone Co. Virginia’s 15 smaller telephone companies will file tariffs by Oct. 1.
C&P, the state’s largest telephone company with about 2 million customers, would provide basic dial-tone service to eligible customers for $2.50 a month. Outgoing calls would be priced according to usage, and customers would have two options.
The lowest-priced service now being offered by C&P is its economy message and economy measured services. These plans have a basic monthly rate of $5 plus a $2.60 subscriber line charge, a federal tariff that may be waived for residential customers covered by a Universal Service Plan.
Initially, stockholders of Bell Atlantic Corp., C&P’s parent company, will have to subsidize the special service, C&P said. At a later date, however, C&P probably will try to shift the responsibility to its existing customers as part of a rate case.
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