CenturyTel phone bills may go up

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Gaye Brown de Alvarez
Staff writer

GALLUP — CenturyTel, the telecommunications provider for Vanderwagen, Pinehaven and other areas south of Gallup, is hoping that customers will not have an additional $2 to $15 per month added to their phone bill.

On Nov. 4 there will be a vote to approve a proposal doing away with the access charge from AT&T and Verizon to rural carriers and shifting the costs to make phone calls to all residential and business telephone customers.

“Most astonishingly, Chairman Martin insists the FCC must vote on this order on Nov. 4, the same day Americans, among them our members of Congress, go to their polling places to vote in the national election. Perhaps he assumes that no one will be paying attention when this proposal is approved without even the slightest input from consumers or anyone representing their interests,” CenturyTel noted in a news release.

Rob Kenney of the Federal Communication Commission and Homeland Security Department said in a telephone interview that no details are available to the public for the proposal but “without meaningful reform immediately to these programs, the Universal Services Phone program would likely be eliminated.”

The court mandated the appointed commissioners take action by Nov. 5 and Kenney said, is why the commission will vote on the proposal on Nov. 4.

The commissioners are not only not releasing details of the telecommunications proposal but are not seeking any public input.

Kim Valiquette of Centurytel in Wisconsin is hoping constituents will contact their congressional delegates to stop the vote.

“It needs to be analyzed a little bit further,” she said in a telephone interview.

Information: CenturyTel: 608-796-5510
FCC Commissioners: Kevin Martin KJMWEB@fcc.gov; Deborah Tate: dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov; Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.com; Michael Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov; Jonathan Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov