157 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
157 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
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# _________________________________ #
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# /he Remote Informer Newsletter! #
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# #
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#----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
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# November TRI Issue: 05 #
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#----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
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# #
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# The Editors: Tracker, Ye Cap'n, Norman Bates, and The Reporter #
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# #
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##############################################################################
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==============================================================================
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= AT&T Rates =
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==============================================================================
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WASHINGTON -- American Telephone & Telegraph Co. proposed Tuesday to
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lower its interstate long-distance rates by an average of 3.6 percent to
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reflect reduced costs in connecting to the local telephone network.
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The largest decrease -- 6.3 percent -- would be seen in day time prices
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"because of the need to make those rates more competitive," AT&T said.
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Rates for calls made during evening hours would drop 2.2 percent and
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calls made during the late night and weekends would be cut by 0.8 percent, the
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company said.
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The rate reductions would take effect Jan. 1, if they are approved by the
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Federal Communications Commission.
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Reacting to the proposed price cuts, MCI Communications Corp. and US
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Sprint Communications Co., the nation's second-largest and third-largest long
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distance companies respectively, said their response would depend on what the
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FCC finally approves but both said they intended to remain competitive with
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AT&T. AT&T, the nation's largest long-distance company, proposed to the FCC
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that its rates drop as much as $800 million, but AT&T said the exact amount
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will depend on the access charges the FCC allows the local telephone companies
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to collect from long distance carriers, which must pay the fees to hook into
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the phone local network.
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AT&T has challenged the new access rates filed by the regional Bell
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operating companies, contending they are more than $1 billion too high.
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In proposing its new rates, the long-distance leader told the FCC it
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expects local companies' access fees to fall by at least $200 million -- which
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would amount to an average rate reduction of less than 1 percent. But the
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company said it believes the FCC will order an additional $600 million in
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reductions based on AT&T's challenge.
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"We're confident the FCC will recognize that access charges filed by the
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local telephone companies need to be substantially reduced, which would mean
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more savings for our customers," said Larry Garfinkel, AT&T vice president for
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marketing.
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He said the company filed its proposed rates based on disputed charges
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because "we wanted to let the public react ... and further to let the FCC have
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full knowledge of where we were heading given our expectation that we had a
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valid basis for our dispute."
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AT&T's long-distance rates have fallen by about 34 percent since the
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company was stripped of its local operating companies by an antitrust decree
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nearly four years ago.
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Since then, phone rate payers have been paying a larger share of the costs
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of maintaining the local network through monthly subscriber line charges, now
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$2.60 for residential customers.
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That has reduced the long-distance companies' share of local network
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expenses, which they pay in the form of access charges.
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Jack Grubman, a telephone analyst with PaineWebber Inc., said AT&T's
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proposal targets business customers because "that's where the competition is
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and where the better (profit) margins are." In addition, it aims to keep the
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pressure on competition in international calling by extending discounts to
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more customers. Grubman added that, if the company's rate proposal is approved
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by the FCC, he would expect no further cuts in AT&T rates in 1988.
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Wendell Lind, AT&T administrator of rates and tariffs, said the cuts for
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business and residential customers are about the same because business cuts
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are offset by a proposed $128 million increase in AT&T's private line rates.
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AT&T is the only long-distance company whose rates are regulated by the
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FCC, but its prices set the pace for the industry. Though AT&T is far larger
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than any of its competitors, its market share has been declining since
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divestiture and the company now says it serves about 75 percent of the market.
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In addition to the reductions in basic long-distance rates, AT&T proposed
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cutting prices by 5 percent and 5.7 percent for its Pro-America calling plans.
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The company also proposed to reduce prices by 2.9 percent for its 800
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Service customers and 4.4 percent for WATS customers, although it would
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increase the monthly access line charges for those plans by $3.20 to reflect
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higher special access charges filed by the local phone companies.
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] Supplied by Tracker and The Reporter
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==============================================================================
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= US Sprint Operator Service Traffic Increases 40% =
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= New Center Added In Dallas =
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- US Sprint Wednesday announced its long distance
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operators who began saying, "May I help you?" just five months ago, are now
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handling 3.5 million calls a month.
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The fiber-optic long-distance carrier, offering the only operator service
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alternative to AT&T has experienced a 40 percent growth in operator service
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calls since it announced its service July 1.
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Amanda Weathersby, US Sprint vice president of product marketing, said
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Tuesday, "More and more people are taking advantage of our call completion
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assistance and alternative billing arrangements.
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"Customer surcharges are the same as AT&T with the added benefit of US
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Sprint's fiber-optic quality and lower long-distance rates."
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US Sprint currently offers person-to-person, station-to-station, call
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completion and collect calling. US Sprint has announced an agreement with US
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WEST Service Link that will allow anyone to call on US Sprint and charge
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their calls to a Regional Bell Operating Co. calling card beginning in first
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quarter 1988.
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"Previously, our operator service was available only on pre-subscribed
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US Sprint phones and recently we added operator assistance for US Sprint FON
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CARD customers," Weathersby said.
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"With this new agreement, we'll be able to expand our operator service
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to markets such as pay phones, hospitals, and hotels/motels."
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The newest 24-hour operator service center in Dallas began operations on
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Oct. 5. US Sprint's other operator service centers are in: Cherry Hill,
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N.J.; Atlanta; Lombard, Ill. and Reno, Nev.
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US Sprint is a joint venture of United Telecommunications Inc. of Kansas
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City, Mo. and GTE Corp. of Stamford, Conn.
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] Supplied by Tracker and The Reporter
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==============================================================================
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= Pacific Bell Pursuing Calling Card Thief =
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SAN FRANCISCO--(BW)--Pacific Bell is warning consumers to protect their
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telephone calling cards like any other credit card in the wake of a series of
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frauds by people posing as phone company employees.
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A Pacific Bell spokesman says customers in the 213, 805 and 916 area
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codes are being victimized by someone who says he is a telephone company
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employee investigating calling card fraud. The individual calls people at
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home at odd hours, asking for their calling card numbers. He then sells the
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numbers to people who use the numbers to make long distance phone calls.
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As recently as Monday of this week, 180 long distance calls were billed
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to a Sacramento area resident who had given his number to the thief just three
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hours earlier.
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According to Pacific Bell, this kind of scheme and other forms of calling
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card fraud cost telephone customers nationwide half a billion dollars a year.
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The company offered these tips to consumers to avoid becoming a victim of
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calling card fraud:
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Never give your calling card number or personal identification number to
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anyone. Any telephone company employee with a legitimate need to know the
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number has access to it.
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Treat your calling card like any other credit card. Report its loss
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immediately by calling the 800 number on the back of the card 800-621-0430.
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If you receive a suspicious call regarding your telephone calling card,
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report it by calling the 800 number on the back of the card.
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If you receive a call from someone claiming to be a telephone company
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employee and asking for your calling card number, ask for a name and number to
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call back. Then call the local Pacific Bell business office to report the
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incident.
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One suspect was arrested in Southern California last week by a quick
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thinking customer who did just that. Pacific Bell immediately contacted the
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local police department. A suspect holding seven stolen calling card numbers
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was arrested minutes later.
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Pacific Bell and long-distance telephone companies will credit customers
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for calling card charges determined to be fraudulent. Pacific Bell is a
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subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Group, a diversified telecommunications
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corporation based in San Francisco.
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] Supplied by Tracker and The Reporter
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==============================================================================
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We look for information in anyway related to the newsletter. If you have
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something of interests, or something that you saw on television, or in the
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newspaper, then upload it to one of the boards listed below. You will receive
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full credit.
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Pirate's Hollow..................................................(415)593-6784
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Bates Motel......................................................(619)267-0293
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==============================================================================
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Brought to you in the Cookbook courtesy of the Jolly Roger!!!!!!!!!!!
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