🚀 go-pugleaf

>>Specifically, GTE customers' (I am one) rate will go up from $9.75 to $17.49.
>[...]
>>and do something about it!  Pac Bell customers will also experience a hefty 
>>rate increase to over $11/month for the service, with the expectation that the
>>rate will be raised later.  If you add up the costs of phone service under the

>When I lived in both Ohio and Maryland, *basic* service was close to $20
>a month.  $11 is STILL quite a bargain.

You are taking what I said out of context!

My main complaints were:

1) The 80% increase that GTE customers will be sufferring.

2) The disparity between the rates proposed for Pac Bell and GTE.

3) The reasoning that was given for the rate increase:  increased competition.
   If they wanted increased competition with the above rate, they should let
   phone customers choose between Pac Bell and GTE!!  With the huge disparity
   in rates ($11 and $17), I wonder how many cumstomers GTE will have left if
   they allowed such competition.  Don't you think its hypocritical to tout
   "competition" but allow such disparity to exist.

4) The $17.50 rate isn't all:  there's an extra $3.50 charge for an "interstate
   "line subscriber", $2.50 charge called "temporary surcharge... as allowed by
    the PUC", and 10% city tax (in Santa Monica, where I live).  That's almost
    $30 for basic service, not $17 or $20.  And that's before a single phone
    call was made.

5)  The increased competition claim is bogus!  You'll have to dial an extra 5 
    digits to reach another "intra-LATA" carrier.  Just dialing the number will
    get you standard GTE/Pac Bell rates, which they say they will reduce 
    significantly (yeah, right).

6) There may be other factors why basic service in Ohio and Maryland is higher.

Max
max_kislik.es_ae@xerox.com