by Brent Frazier
LAFAYETTE, Tenn. - Katherine Raum, who runs a small rural dental clinic with her husband, will be at the State capitol in Nashville Tuesday morning when a House commerce committee begins to explore Senate Bill 598: a measure that moves to give telephone companies like AT&T a fiscal break in Tennessee.
Raum, who works as office manager, said her business cannot opt for a telephone giant like AT&T for her landline service, given the clinic's remote location. Instead, the Raums rely on a company called North Central Telephone Cooperative, a co-op, it's called, or a rural telephone company. There are 17 such companies, or co-ops, statewide, covering 30 Tennessee counties.
"The long distance is the single largest component of the phone bill," Raum told NewsChannel 5. "It's not my phone lines, it's not my voicemail, it's not even my internet."
Raum raves about the always dependable utility coverage, from companies like NCTC, even in these remote parts of the state. But she does not welcome the prospect of big-name companies, like AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, paying a reduced-rate access charge to companies like NCTC for carrying those bigger companies' long distance calls.
For example, a landline call from an AT&T customer in Metro Nashville to Macon County will cost AT&T a fee of 5-cents per minute, to be paid to NCTC, for use of that smaller company's equipment in completing the call. Bill 598 would lower that access charge to 2-cents per minute, more in-line with the federal rate put into place for state-to-state, long distance calling.
"This is big, corporate against the little guy," said State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, a Republican from Lancaster, TN. "And I totally oppose that."
But AT&T disagrees.
"Studies have shown that when access charges are reduced, long distance prices go down, which frees capital for more investment in new technologies, such as broadband and mobile technologies, which is a win for all Tennesseans, not just a select few," said Chris Walker, a member of AT&T's public affairs team.
"AT&T is a member of a broad coalition of telephone providers, including Verizon, Sprint and Comcast and independent companies like TW telecom. This coalition of providers agrees that it is time for modernization of our telecommunications laws. It just isn't fair to the majority of Tennesseans (including those in Nashville and our rural customers) who are subject to these outdated and hidden subsidies that these independent companies use to charge higher rates to complete a call. In fact, the mandate for these subsidies, which is universal landline telephone service, has long been met. 85% of Tennesseans are paying to subsidize a select few, and that's not fair in today's competitive environment."
"We believe the best way to spur investment and economic development statewide, and to create jobs in the long run, is to modernize Tennessee's telecommunications laws. By eliminating outdated, arcane government-mandated regulations that stifles investment and keeps consumers locked in the past, we are helping keep Tennessee competitive."
Phone companies, like AT&T, are said to be embracing a potential savings of $16 million annually, should this controversial phone bill pass.
State Senator Mark Norris, a Republican and the Senate majority leader, is chief sponsor of the bill on the Senate side. Neither Norris, nor his staff, returned at least two NewsChannel 5 phone calls on Monday.
Email: bfrazier@newschannel5.com
