EXPANSION OF LOCAL CALLING AREA SOUGHT; DRIVE URGES CAPE-SCOTT LINK

BENTON -- When Karen Diebold moved to Benton from Atlanta, Ga., her phone bill tripled from about $90 to over $270 a month, although her calling habits stayed the same.

Her teen-age children call their friends from school, and she calls the doctor's office and pharmacy. But from the Diebold's home in Benton, many of those calls are long-distance.

"I couldn't understand why it had to be that way," Diebold said.

She would like to see the local calling area for Cape Girardeau expanded to include Benton, Chaffee and Oran, and has started a petition drive in these three communities. She is gathering signatures of telephone users tired of paying high bills and has collected about 200 signatures.

"Everyone complains, just not to the right people, so I took it under my wing," Diebold said.

Exchange boundaries for telephone service were set in 1984, at the time of the breakup of the phone company. But the local exchange provider, in this case Southwestern Bell, determines which calls are toll calls.

Gay Smith, policy analyst with the Missouri Public Service Commission, said the best bet would be to lobby Southwestern Bell for some kind of change. The PSC, which governs telecommunications, doesn't establish toll areas.

"But, if the company gets enough customer input or feedback, they may develop special plans," Smith said.

Jack Farmer of Southwestern Bell Telephone said, "As a company, we know these situations exist, and we offer some packages for people in her position."

For example, customers can receive a discounted fee for direct-dialed long-distance calls to a single telephone number within the region. Southwestern Bell also gives customers the option of buying a block of long-distance time at a discounted price.

Diebold said she has tried various calling plans, looking for better long-distance rates, but the bill remains high.

In Chaffee, Debbie Simmons has been collecting signatures. "The people I've dealt with here have been very positive," she said.

"It's a real problem," Simmons said. "With the petitions, at least maybe we'll make an impact."

Diebold said, "In this local calling area, we don't have a doctor or a hospital."

While her children's friends all attend Kelly High School, some live a long-distance call away.

"Am I supposed to tell my daughter, being new in town, not to talk on the phone?" Diebold said.

Diebold has contacted Southwestern Bell and state Sen. Peter Kinder looking for help.

Kinder said he wasn't aware of any legislative solution, but he would bring the situation to the attention of Southwestern Bell.

"The fact that we have a petition with 200 signatures will surely strengthen my hand," Kinder said.

"I've never taken on something like this," Diebold said. "But I plan just to keep working."