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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > March > 12 > Entry
Guest column:Ohioans could pay more for worse phone service
This commentary was written by Ellis Jacobs, a senior attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality in Dayton who often represents clients in telecommunications matters.
As if households in Ohio aren’t under enough financial stress, now the Ohio House and Senate are considering legislation that could make it harder to pay monthly home telephone bills.
If passed, the legislation would deregulate Ohio’s land-line telephone companies, allow residential rates to increase and weaken consumer protections and service quality.
Even with the spread of wireless telephones, many Ohioans still rely on traditional land-line home telephone service as their main or sole source of telecommunications. They rely on it because it provides unlimited minutes of use at a low, fixed, monthly rate.
They don’t just use it to call friends, family and neighbors, but for emergency services such as 911, medical alert buttons and alarm services. They need their land-line phone service to be reliable and affordable.
Here are some concerns about how telephone service in Ohio would be affected by this proposed law:
• Telephone companies would be able to raise their monthly rates for basic telephone service by $1.25 every year, even for those on the low-income Lifeline discount program. This could mean rate increases of up to 20-40 percent over the next few years.
• Telephone companies would be allowed to take up to three days to restore service outages, up from a current one-day rule. Companies have been able to meet the one-day requirement for many years. For those who rely on their home telephone, being without service for three days is unacceptable.
• The proposed legislation scales back educational efforts for the Lifeline program, which could prevent customers who need the help that this program offers, from knowing about it.
• Customers who have a package or bundle of telecommunication services — the majority of land-line telephone consumers in Ohio — will receive even fewer protections than those with just basic service. They would have only limited protections from “unfair or deceptive” practices. They would not be guaranteed access to 911 emergency services if disconnected for nonpayment, as they presently are. This could put vulnerable customers’ health and safety at risk.
The big phone companies argue that the legislature should allow them to raise rates and reduce service because they face competition. The irony of this should not be missed. Competition, after all, is supposed to lower rates and improve service.
The other argument I’ve heard for this legislation is that the phone companies are hurting financially and that if they get this deregulation, they will increase investment in Ohio. Neither part of this claim stands up to the facts.
AT&T Ohio averaged 11.4 percent return on equity during the past five years. Verizon averaged 15.8 percent over the same period. We should all be hurting like that.
Moreover, the history of telecommunication deregulation in Ohio shows that when a service or product is deregulated, not only does the price of it go up, but investment and jobs in Ohio go down.
From 2001 to 2008, during a period of deregulation, AT&T Ohio reduced its employee count by 40 percent. Verizon reduced its by 26 percent.
Ask yourself, if a company can take three days instead of one to repair a line, will it employ more or fewer people in those types of jobs?
Contact your state legislators. Tell them to defeat House Bill 276 and Senate Bill 162. This legislation is a bad deal for Ohio. It gives telephone companies all the benefits while leaving consumers empty-handed.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Guest Columns, Ohio government, Rural Communities
Comments
By THE DAYTON EVACUATION CENTER
March 12, 2010 6:42 PM | Link to this
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Due to the rapid collapse of the City of Dayton, an immediate evacuation of the city has been ordered. For your safety and that of your family, please proceed out of Dayton as quickly as possible, by any means possible.——- Aid stations have been set up on major roads for Dayton refugees. Medical help is available for those with gunshot wounds, lice/crab/bedbug infestations, or individuals requiring detox.—— THE DAYTON EVACUATION CENTER
By Joe
March 12, 2010 10:15 PM | Link to this
Whenever deregulation occurs, it’s never the consumer that benefits. Since DP&L spun off is natural gas service, my bills have done nothing but go up. Competition was the big selling point to get that deregulation passed. Deregulating telephone service is a scam just like gas and electric service. I’m not fooled anymore. Unfortunately, I have to be skeptical of legitimate businesses in the same way that I have to be skeptical of unsolicited garbage email deals. There are way too many businesses trying to illicitly take advantage of the consumer. No Dereg.
By joe2
March 13, 2010 10:08 PM | Link to this
This is not the first time the phone industry will have been deregulated. Happened before when the big phone companies were declared a monopoly and forced to break up. I guess that was not the beginning of deregulation but then again the rates did not lower. History can repeat itself
By Matt
March 18, 2010 4:20 PM | Link to this
Thankyou Sen. Shannon Jones. Stick it to us again.