by Brent Frazier
Nashville, TENN. - State lawmakers are slated to vote Tuesday on a controversial phone bill designed to ultimately reduce the intrastate access fee that companies like AT&T pay Tennessee's rural phone companies, and co-ops, for land line service into the remotest parts of the state.
An amended version of Senate Bill 598 and House Bill 574, that delays the start of that fiscal break until 2012, then introduces incremental, 20 percent fee decreases over a five-year period, is what's set to be voted on. But Nashville attorney John Harris, who represents all 17 of Tennessee's rural phone companies and co-ops in this debate, wonders why a built-in safety net from Senator Mae Beavers was shot down.
Simply put, Beavers's suggested latitude, Harris explained, would allow these rural phone companies and co-ops to at least approach the TN Regulatory Authority (TRA) with the prospect of a rate increase, should the cost of a call beginning exceeding the profit made by these small town companies. In short, rural phone companies, under Mae Beavers's proposed amendment, would at least have the built-in 'wiggle room' of adjusting rates so such 'Mom and Pop' phone companies don't risk financial ruin.
John Harris said 40,000 rural Tennesseans Emailed their feelings of opposition when talk of this phone bill began to surface on Capitol Hill.
NewsChannel 5 has never been able to reach Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, (R)-Collierville, the Bill's sponsor on the Senate side. We were also unsuccessful in our attempts to reach Norris's fellow Republican Senate supporters: Jack Johnson, of Brentwood; Mike Faulk, of Kingsport; Jamie Woodson, of Knoxville; and Dolores Gresham, of Somerville.
But an AT&T spokesperson provided the following statement, regarding the proposed changes:
"AT&T is part of a broad coalition of telephone providers who agree that it is time for modernization of our telecommunications laws, and we are proud to join the cooperatives and independents in supporting a compromise that addresses this issue. With all providers in the state agreeing to a compromise, we are looking forward to working together to keep Tennessee on the cutting edge for their telecommunications needs and investing in newer technologies, such as broadband, which is a win for all Tennesseans, both urban and rural."
