BELL FEELS CUSTOMERS WOULD BENEFIT IF PSC APPROVES IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Telephone customers would benefit from more than state-of-the-art communications technology under a plan proposed by Southwestern Bell to the Missouri Public Service Commission.

The company wants to reduce some rates, including long distance, by more than $49 million over a three-year period.

The rate reductions are part of a proposed $153.6 million program, a major portion of which involves installation of a fiber optics network.

Bell also is seeking to expand its Lifeline discount program for low-income persons and lower access charges for long distance calls.

Under the plan, basic local rates would be frozen for three more years meaning Missouri will have gone 12 years without an increase in such rates, said Craig Felzien, area manager for Southwestern Bell in Cape Girardeau.

Felzien said the telephone company has returned more than $44 million in credits to its Missouri customers in the last two years. That "profit sharing" plan will continue, he said.

Installation of a fiber optics network would provide a means for everything from long-distance learning to telemedicine.

Other telecommunications companies, such as cable operators, also are rushing to install fiber optic cable.

"We welcome competition. We just want to be competitive in the industry, providing good information services," said Felzien.

Spurred on by the new technology, the distinction between telephone, cable and even newspapers is becoming blurred.

Many of the Bell companies are entering into cooperative agreements with cable companies and newspapers regarding information transmission systems. "I think you can look forward to seeing more of these kinds of mergers taking place," said Felzien.

The consumer ultimately will have a world of options and information at his fingertips, he said. "We really do think the customer will be king."