CenturyTel, along with all
Romero said the new billing plan will charge customers for calls to cell phones outside their service area, a new policy that has been overlooked for several months. Local service for CenturyTel customers includes the communities of Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, Birmingham, Lorain, Sheffield Village, Sheffield Lake, South Amherst and Vermilion. Under the new plan, calls from those communities to cell phone numbers that fall in the Elyria, North Ridgeville, LaGrange or Cuyahoga County service areas could now be considered long distance. In November, the Federal Communications Commission changed billing procedures, and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio passed new tariff regulations, and CenturyTel must comply with the new rules, Romero said. Starting March 2, charges for calls placed to cell phones from business or residence lines, called land lines, may be subject to The change was made partly to help pay the expense of cell phone number portability, according to telecommunications officials. The FCC recently approved local number portability, which allows people to keep their cell phone numbers even if they change wireless service providers. Before this option, cell phone users had to stay with one wireless provider to maintain a cell phone number. Wireless companies in the past followed a reverse billing agreement, meaning they covered long distance charges for incoming calls to their cell phone customers. Because a customer no longer needs loyalty to one company in order to keep a number, the wireless providers decided to stop paying reverse charges. Therefore, someone needs to pick up the tab and that will soon include those calling cell phones from a land line. Connie Ferrer, a mother of four teenagers in Lorain, said she got herself and two of her daughters cell phones for the main reason of avoiding long distance charges. ’’It just doesn’t seem right,’’ Ferrer said. ’’I don’t think people understand at all how this will be affecting us. How can they be allowed to do this?’’ ’’I heard about this plan, and I immediately looked at my cell phone number, which will cost me long distance to call from home,’’ she said. ’’I just hope enough people complain to make them really take a look at this.’’ Audra DiLuciano, the services manager for a law firm in Avon, said the new plan is ’’outrageous.’’ DiLuciano said the cost of using the 22 wireless lines of the firm’s attorneys will skyrocket, but if she changes the numbers to a local connection, the firm would have to buy new stationery and business cards, which all bear the employees’ current wireless numbers. ’’I am really, really angry,’’ DiLuciano said. ’’This is reprehensible and will be an unnecessary and huge cost to individuals and businesses alike.’’ Customers can log on to CenturyTel’s Web site at ’’The whole point we need to emphasize is that we want our customers aware so they don’t incur charges they don’t expect,’’ Romero said. ’’People just need to pay attention and see if there is a number that will change their billing rates.’’ Customers have the option to pay individually for long distance calls as they are made, or they can sign on for one of two flat rate plans. Callers can refer to pages 17 through 19 in the company phone book for details about the long distance rates and plans. ’’It is confusing, but we have to be in compliance with FCC and PUCO regulations,’’ Romero said. ’’Some people may have some additional charges, and we want to eliminate or reduce this. We are alerting customers that if they make wireless calls, they should check with their long distance carrier to ensure they are not being charged,’’ Romero said. Individuals can file complaints on the FCC or PUCO Web sites. In another CenturyTel matter, the company has filed with PUCO for elective alternative regulation, a program that freezes basic local service at current rates, but allows the company to increase the rates of features, such as call waiting, caller I.D. or call blocking. In December 2001, PUCO adopted rules to allow all of Ohio’s 42 local telephone companies to apply for the elective regulation feature. ’’The whole focus of the program is to get services to customers much quicker,’’ Romero said. ’’It makes the installation process for services much less cumbersome.’’ Romero said the plan has three main benefits to the customer. It sets local service fees; it makes high speed Internet access available to all customers; and it creates an enhanced lifeline assistance program, which assists low income families with phone bill costs. The Ohio Commissioners’ Counsel, which acts as an advocate for the public, yesterday asked that PUCO not approve CenturyTel for the program. The plan will limit local service charges, but as a result, rates for features like long distance, extra lines or directory assistance can be raised, said Carah Brody, an OCC public information specialist. ’’These rules were intended to be allowed for companies who had competitive services,’’ Brody said. ’’CenturyTel has no competition in their area. If a customer doesn’t have a choice, it isn’t fair to continue raising rates for features.’’ Romero said any charge for a feature must be approved through PUCO, so the company does not have free reign to increase charges. The plan was developed after PUCO held hearings through the state to determine what phone customers were looking for in their service plans, Romero said. ’’The OCC has stated these same arguments at every hearing,’’ Romero said. ’’But PUCO still went forward with the plan because they thought it was best for the consumer.’’ ’’We are out for fair pricing and reasonable services for customers,’’ Brody said. ’’We think customers should have alternative choices.’’
KRISTA SCHULTZ