Especially considering that, in the neighboring state of Tennessee, where they have a strong PSC and where Vice-President Al "Information Highway" Gore is from, the rate for residential ISDN is about $35 a month (and lower in some areas), and that in Arkansas, where President Bill "It's the Economy, Stupid" Clinton helps to see that residential ISDN rates are about $17.40 a month for unlimited service. Georgia's base rate of about $70 a month is not the highest in the nation, (Bell Atlantic being about twice as high, and having per minute charges to boot), but it is certianly up there.... Time for the Georgia PSC to tell our favorvite dial tone provider to get real.... OK, here's the basic info for contacting the Georgia PSC (taken from their Web page at : +-------------Start of Quoted Material-----------------+ HOW CAN CONSUMERS PARTICIPATE IN THE PSC PROCESS? The Public Service Commission provides many avenues for Georgia's residents to participate in the process of regulating utilities and motor carriers. All hearings, administrative sessions and committee meetings of the PSC are open to the public. The PSC's dockets of pending and closed cases are available to the public. Administrative sessions of the PSC are held the first and third Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Commission's offices in Atlanta. Public hearings usually are scheduled on the second and fourth Tuesdays. The number of additional days scheduled for a hearing depends upon the complexity of the issue. Rate case hearings usually require an average of nine days. Hearings and investigations may be conducted at the PSC offices, or in another part of the state if that is more convenient for the public. Notices of public hearings are published by the utility in newspapers in the affected areas. A listing of generic dockets and dockets generated by the Commission is published in the Fulton County Daily Report as are docket notices affecting motor carriers. A consumer may be placed on the Transportation Division's docket notice mailing list for $10 a year. Dockets and records of pending or closed cases are available at the PSC offices in Atlanta or at the Transportation Division offices in Hapeville. Although documents may be read at state offices, there is a small fee for copying them. It is helpful, but not necessary, to know the docket number in advance. Though the Consumers' Utility Counsel represents the state's consumers in proceedings before the PSC, individual consumers may participate. On the first day of a proceeding, any interested individual may sign up to provide an oral or written statement of his/her position on an issue before the commissioners. A consumer may inform the commissioners of his or her position on an issue by writing or calling the PSC or by submitting a petition. Mailing addresses are PSC, 244 Washington St., SW, Atlanta, GA 30334 and for the Transportation Division, 1007 Virginia Ave., Suite 310, Hapeville, GA 30354. Telephone numbers for the Commission are (404) 656-4501 and toll-free 1-800-282-5813. +-----------------End of Quoted Material------------------+ The 1996 PSC Telecommunication committee members are: TELECOMMUNICATIONS Stan Wise, Chairman Bob Durden Mac Barber It would seem that, if this proposal for a rate increase affects consumer lines, copies of direct comments by consumers to the PSC, or comments an individual or small business owner would like to have representation to the PSC made by the Consumer's Utility Counsel, be directed to the current Consumer's Utility Counsel, whose contact information (quoted from the same source as above) is as follows: +--------------Start of Quoted Material-------------------+ WHAT IS THE CONSUMERS' UTILITY COUNSEL? The Consumers' Utility Counsel is appointed by the Governor and is authorized to appear at all proceedings involving utility rates and services before the PSC or any other state or federal agency. The office of the Consumers'Utility Counsel was established by the Georgia Legislature in 1975. It functions separately from the Georgia Public Service Commission to represent the interests of residential and small business and commercial consumers in matters concerning the state's regulated utilities. Counsel staff works with the Commission to assure consumers' rights to fair and nondiscriminatory utility and transportation rates and services. To this end, the CUC enjoys the same access as commissioners and staff to all Commission records, files, reports and documents. The Consumer's Utility Counsel is Nancy Gibson at 84 Peachtree St., NW, Suite 201, Atlanta, GA 30303-2318. The telephone number of the Consumers' Utility Counsel is 1-404-656-3982. +-------------End of Quoted Material----------------------+ Finally, although Robbie's original post indicates his information came straight from Bell South, the PSC's Web pages for PSC filings, last updated August 23rd, and the docket number page, updated August 1, have no direct mention of such a filing, and no docket number for such a matter has yet been assigned (at least in my reading of these listings, as found on the associated Web pages). However, the paper of record for such notices is the Fulton County Daily Report, so omission from the material posted on the Web is not to say such a filing has not been made, and there _are_ some "catchall" filings by Bell South on the date Robbie quotes that may reference this matter. And, under Federal Telecommuncations Act of 1995, the PSC's role in setting telecommunications pricing is changing. Whereas, formerly, the PSC acted to ensure that rates for telecommunications services were "fair and reasonable" with due regard for the provision of service and recovery of cost of the service provider, today that role is being re-defined as per the following quote from the same source: +----------Start of Quoted Material------------------------+ WHO PROVIDES TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES? Telephone service regulation was added to the Commission's responsibilities in 1907. In 1950, the legislature gave the PSC the power to mandate telephone service in areas of the state which needed it. By giving the Commission this authority, the lawmakers made clear the state's intent to provide all citizens with at least a minimal level of telephone service. However, passage of the Telecommunications and Competition Development Act of 1995 (Senate Bill #137) significantly changed the Commission's regulatory responsibilities. Instead of setting prices for telecommunications services, the PSC now manages and facilitates the transition to competitive markets, establishes and administers a universal access fund to assure reasonable access to services, monitors rates and service quality, and mediates disputes between competitors. +----------End of Quoted Material--------------------------+ Bell South has a number of recent filings before the PSC asking for rulings to conform to the Telecommunciations Act of 1995 (basically to allow them to set rates without commission oversight). This may be the first shot in a new round of "de-regulated" telecommunciations policy based price hikes....:-( -- No cheers today...:-( Paul Scheele paulsc@atl.mindspring.com ©1996 - Paul Scheele