Hello all,

I will respond to all the posted messages so far in this reply.

first Mike, I agree with your situation.  for most blind people who are
using the local phone service from companies that started offering it in the
last eight years, they do not and cannot receive free directory assistance.
The reason for this is simply a numbers game.  when phone companies started
to charge for directory assistance in the 1970s and 1980s, there were just a
handful of providers in each state for the most part.  When the issue was
fresh, blindness and disability leaders worked with state utility
commissions to exempt the blind from these charges.  these exemptions were
incorporated into the tariffs on file with these commissions and
incorporated into the rate structure.  with the advent of local competition,
scores of companies now offer local telephone service in some large states,
such as Pennsylvania and Illinois where we both live.  blindness or
disability leaders have not focused on telecommunications access on the
state level and generally have not raised this issue with local utility
commissions.

the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was supposed to change things by
requiring that telecommunications companies provide accessible services.
Arguably, this would include access to telephone directories.  the FCC has
not issued any guidance to telephone companies as to what is expected in
complying with Section 255 (the accessibility provisions) of this act.
Enforcement is at the discretion of the FCC.  the current chairman of the
FCC, Michael Powel, is the son of Colin Powel, who sat on the board of time
Warner when it merged with AOL and approved the AOL merger before he was
appointed secretary of State by president bush.  In addition to AOL, time
Warner properties include CNN, the Turner Cable Networks, the Road runner
broadband internet service, and the Winamp MP3 player.  the merger has been
considered by many to be a failure.  Michael has analogized that the digital
divide is something akin to a "Mercedes divide."  the lack of directory
assistance from these new competitors which was not supposed to happen, will
likely continue under the bush Administration given its harsh rebuke of
those raising concerns about universal access in the new telecommunications
landscape.

the short response to your experience is that this state of affairs was not
what was promised by our national advocates but given the fact that people
with disabilities cannot sue to enforce the civil rights provisions in the
Telecommunications Act the situation will likely continue under the current
political administration.

regarding David's fear that $5 a month local service  will likely disappear
sooner than later, I might suggest that David consider the situation with
long distance service.  David, I am surprised you had not referenced this
example, considering your participation on the FCC consumer Advisory
committee.  Long distance rates have dropped steadily during the past 20
years to the point where we can now call anywhere in the lower 48 states,
Canada, the UK, and China for two and a half cents a minute.  this is as a
result of dramatic changes in regulation and technology.  given the track
record of long distance, extreme price reductions in local telephone service
enabled by technological changes that are long term and sustainable may
indeed be possible.  While free checking at banks may not exactly be free,
it is for most of the people with those accounts.  I suspect the same will
be the experience for those with ultra cheap local phone service.

Steve is right, broadband service has not reached many rural areas.  unless
one lives within a mile and a half of a telephone switching station or in an
area served by cable television service, one likely can't get affordable
high speed digital connectivity.  Further, most areas with lower population
densities have not had their infrastructure upgraded for the new technology.
hopefully, Internet connectivity through power lines will be the killer app.
In states with both rural and urban populations, the low income urban folks
may be paying subsidies for universal service but unfortunately do not see
the benefits because of the limits placed on deployment on the new
technology.

Kelly





----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Gravitt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2004 7:28 AM
Subject: Re: FCC in a quandary over VoIP


> Kelly,
>
> I have not received free directory assistance for quite a while, so it
would
> not be a big deal to me at all.  With so many carriers now offering local
> service (MCI, Sprint, IDT, etc.), many do not offer free directory
> assistance.  And, ironically, I do not believe they are obligated to as
they
> are not the ones who publish the print directories anyway.  It is still my
> understanding that Verizon delivers my print directory no matter which
local
> provider I use (I now use Sprint, and have used MCI, too).  So, it still
> would be up to Verizon to make it accessible.  But, if I do not use
Verizon
> for my phone service, how are they going to make it accessible to me?
>
> Has anyone who uses a different carrier than the one that normally
publishes
> the print phone directory had any luck receiving free directory
assistance?
>
> For over two years, I have simply used on-line resources and keep better
> track of personal contacts instead of relying on 411.  I used to not worry
> about saving many numbers I would often call because I knew I could make a
> free call to directory assistance and get it on-demand anyway.  Now, my
> habits have changed and it works out fine.  I never call directory
> assistance from home.
>
> I do, however, use it from my cell phone on occasion as I do not have
access
> to the internet, nor do I carry any gadgets or notetakers around with me.
> So, in these cases, I do pay for the service.  But, I feel this is the
same
> as many others who are out and about.  Not just blind folks.
>
> So, at this point, through Sprint PCS cellular service, and through Sprint
> local landline service, I do receive any free directory assistance.  If
> you've had luck with either resource, please let me know.
>
> Thanks!
> Mike
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kelly Pierce" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2004 8:06 AM
> Subject: FCC in a quandary over VoIP
>
>
> if the FCC were to loosen some of its rules, we could have $5 a month
local
> phone service.  While not mentioned in the article, an FCC rule that does
> add an expense is that requiring local phone services to offer services be
> on par with the big wireline provider services, such as SBC, Verizon, and
> Qwest.  This includes paying to publish subscribers telephone numbers in a
> local directory and providing access to that directory to the blind,
usually
> through free directory assistance.  for $5 a month local phone service,
> would people give up free directory assistance?
>
> for me it is difficult to answer this question because I have always had
> telephone service.  If I had a really low income and went without
telephone
> service for long periods of time because of cost issues, the possibility
of
> unlimited $5 a month local service would be a godsend.  While the
directory
> may not be accessible, just having extraordinarily inexpensive phone
service
> would be very useful compared to no phone service at all.
>
> Kelly
>
>
>
>
> Chicago Tribune
>
> May 22, 2004
>
>
>
>     FCC in a quandary over VoIP
>
>     Internet phone service is cheap, if it's not subject to access fees
>
>      by: Jon Van Tribune staff reporter
>
>
>     A former Ameritech executive believes he can deliver phone service
> through the Internet to low-income people for $5 a month.
>
>     Dwayne Goldsmith, now chief of Detroit-based Inflexion Communications
> Corp., and his bargain-phone scheme embody the promise and peril of
> Internet telephony. Most experts agree that the technology, called voice
> over Internet protocol, is far cheaper and more feature rich than regular
> phone service.
>
>     But the VoIP technology runs smack into a thicket of regulations, fees
> and taxes that dominate traditional phone service. If Inflexion's $5
> service were subject to these regulations and fees, the cost structure
> wouldn't work.
>
>     Many of those fees were established to promote universal phone service
> that helps the poor--now they could prevent public housing residents from
> getting phones, Goldsmith said.
>
>     "It doesn't make sense to collect all these dollars and then push them
> back to the very phone companies that failed to provide truly universal
> service," he said.
>
>     Inflexion has asked the Federal Communications Commission to exempt
> its service from the system of subsidized payments that characterizes
> traditional phone service.
>
>     So-called access fees typically paid by long-distance companies like
> AT&T Corp. to local phone companies like SBC Communications Inc. were
> instituted decades ago to keep local phone service rates low.
>
>     But Inflexion's ultralow rates won't be possible if it is subject to
> access fees, Goldsmith argues.
>
>     Goldsmith wants to supply high-speed Internet connections to densely
> occupied housing projects in Detroit, offering phone service as a
> Web-based application, much like e-mail. Residents who have computers
> could access the Internet from Inflexion's system, but others without
> computers would be supplied with phones to use Internet telephony.
>
>     Inflexion would avoid the expense of billing and metering the service
> by selling communications in bulk to landlords who could add $5 a month to
> rent to cover costs, he said.
>
>     FCC Chairman Michael Powell has called for "lightly regulated"
> Internet telephony, and Congress recently approved extending a tax
> moratorium on Internet services. But whether the FCC will grant
> Inflexion's plea to avoid traditional phone fees is unknown.
>
>     Last month the FCC unanimously turned down a request from AT&T Corp.
> that would exempt it from paying traditional access charges on calls that
> use VoIP technology.
>
>     "This is a landscape that's very treacherous and exciting," said David
> Roddy, managing director of the telecom practice at FTI Consulting Inc.
> "You're dealing with policy issues--not light regulation versus heavy. Do
> the states give up billions in revenue they get from taxing phone
> service?"
>
>     Rural firms wield clout
>
>     If access fees go uncollected, rural phone companies will face serious
> financial trouble, he said, and they have considerable clout with
> Congress.
>
>     David Siddall, a Washington lawyer who specializes in communications
> and a former FCC staffer, said that the agency is truly in a quandary over
> what to do with VoIP.
>
>     Neither Siddall nor Roddy expect action from the FCC until next year.
> In the absence of specific rulings, VoIP companies tend to be unregulated.
>
>     Vonage, a leading Internet phone provider with more than 100,000
> customers, for instance, pays no access fees.
>
>     "Right now VoIP is a small dribble and doesn't make much difference,"
> said Siddall. "But the FCC recognizes that as this continues, the current
> system will be harmed."
>
>     Roddy said that the telecom industry is headed for a "perfect storm,"
> led by VoIP's disruptive technology.
>
>     VoIP customers must have a broadband connection to make voice calls,
> and today most consumers get broadband either over a DSL phone line or a
> cable modem. But more choices are on the horizon.
>
>     Wireless broadband using a standard called WiMax should become
> available next year, and most electric utilities are experimenting with
> technology to bring broadband to their customers, Roddy said.
>
>     "We're about to see true competition to provide broadband, and VoIP is
> the key to the whole play," he said.
>
>     Internet telephony's economics are so attractive that the technology
> will spread no matter what regulators do, said Jim Hart, senior vice
> president with the Burwood Group Inc.
>
>     "Businesses are adopting this technology," Hart said. "It's ready for
> prime time. The bottom line is there."
>
>     Regulators have pushed for reducing access fees and their
> cross-service subsidies for years, and they have become less important for
> large carriers like SBC and Verizon Communications. But access fees are
> still a major part of the revenue flow to many rural phone carriers.
>
>     TDS plans market trials
>
>     An important carrier is Chicago-based Telephone and Data Systems Inc.,
> which serves more than 1 million wired phone customers, mostly in small
> towns and rural areas, through its TDS Telecom unit.
>
>     "We're certainly looking at VoIP," said David Wittwer, chief financial
> officer of TDS Telecom. "We plan to do a couple of small market trials to
> understand how we may offer it to our customers."
>
>     Industry groups are trying to build a consensus of how the existing
> system of intercarrier compensation should be revised, said Kevin Hess,
> TDS' vice president for regulatory affairs.
>
>     "Clearly, changes will be made," he said. "It cannot stay the way it's
> done today."
>
>     Inflexion's Goldsmith agrees. "We need to adjust regulation so that it
> matches the technological landscape," he said.
>
>
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VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
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