LETTER: OPPOSITION TO HCS 1363

To the editor:

I oppose House Committee Substitute 1363, a telecommunications bill our state Legislature is currently considering. The bill threatens the quality and availability of telephone service, especially in rural areas.

First, HCS1363 will increase rates. Southwestern Bell and GTE will be able to take advantage of our rural isolation by setting noncompetitive access rates to their hardware for potential competitors. There are also insufficient regulations to prevent them from attracting long-distance customers in urban areas by subsidizing rates from the increased rates of rural customers. In short, rural Missourians could end up paying more to call their families or operate small businesses and family farms to provide urban customers a discount.

But not only will HCS1363 increase rates, it doesn't adequately address "universal service." Universal service guarantees that telephone subscribers in rural regions, as well as other areas Southwestern Bell and GTE find undesirable, receive the same quality, state-of-the-art service offered in higher-income and more densely populated areas. Without these guarantees, residents of rural Missouri will surely be denied those same capacities, putting them at a disadvantage.

Even worse, in rural areas where supplying service is more costly and more difficult, residents will only have one choice for service as local incumbent providers price competitors out of the market. This means that competition will provide urban residents with various choices to travel the information superhighway, while leaving Missourians stranded on the side of the road.

In an age where telecommunications are the future, the residents of Missouri deserve better than HCS1363. The Legislature should design a bill that provides true choice and quality service for all residents.

WAYNE CRYTS

Puxico