Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels October 1, 2004 Local calling area gets much bigger this weekend By Sanne Specht For the Tidings At one minute past midnight, Southern Oregon phone customers will have access to toll-free calling throughout Jackson, Josephine and part of Douglas counties. The new calling zone will cost 17 cents a month for 94 percent of the region's customers. Affordable communication was the driving force behind project initiator Shayne Maxwell's efforts to secure the new zone. She says what began as outrage over exorbitant long-distance charges resulted in billing changes for 18 regions encompassing Grants Pass, Medford, Ashland and outlying areas of the three counties. "I can hardly wait to pick up my phone on Saturday and call my friends in Shady Cove and Ashland," she says. "And my husband can hardly wait to get our phone without those toll charges being on it." The new region is the state's second largest toll-free calling zone. Portland has the largest. John Irwin, a member of the citizens advisory task force to the Public Utilities Commission and chairman of the Oregon Telecommunications Coordinating Council, says the new zone has important implications. People may be less hesitant to call their doctors or schools or local businesses without the burden of burgeoning phone bills, he says. "Anything we can do to help people have affordable communication is going to be of benefit to their lives," says Irwin. "It ripples throughout the economy and quality of life for people." Most exchanges are served by Qwest, and its customers will see relatively minor rate increases on their phone bills. The largest rate increases will hit customers in outlying areas such as Prospect. Prospect, Shady Cove, Butte Falls and White City are all served by Sprint United. Customers for all phone companies will continue to have two options for calling rates. They can choose either a flat rate for the toll-free zone or utilize the option of a measured rate which is billed on a per-minute basis. Irwin credits Maxwell's perseverance for bringing citizens, the four telephone companies and the PUC to come to the table and get this done, he says. Maxwell, who also served as chairwoman of the PUC task force, collected petitions, held public meetings and put on informational open houses. After reviewing all the data, the PUC issued its final order in June. Southern Oregon's four telephone companies - Quest, Verizon, Sprint United and Citizens - were directed to implement a revenue-neutral plan to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. Two years and nine months after Maxwell began the challenge, the wait is over. "I could not be happier and am very thankful to everyone who did their part to make this happen," Maxwell said. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams