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US West announces upgrade Investment good news for Southern Oregon The Associated Press ROSEBURG -- Swamped with complaints about its phone service in rural Oregon, U S West has announced plans to spend more than $20 million to buy new digital switches in Roseburg, Grants Pass, Albany and Springfield. U S West's announcement this week surprised Public Utilities Commission Chairman Ron Eachus, who has launched an investigation into the company' investment in the Roseburg area because of chronic phone problems. "The company has had a clear change of heart, faced with the kinds of community animosity that their failure to make investments earlier have caused," Eachus said. "It's a welcome move." U S West Oregon Vice President Larry Huss said deciding to replace the switches was part of the company's continuing, long-term evaluation of its equipment. He said it also goes hand in hand with other infrastructure expansion in the company's transmission pipes in those areas. Huss said the new investment should help alleviate the cities' problems but he warned that given the explosive demand for telecommunications services, it's no guarantee problems will never resurface. Getting a phone line in some parts of Southern Oregon has been a major hassle in recent months. At Roseburg's Mercy Medical Center, as many as 38 percent of the 200,000 calls a month have been blocked. And some police departments in the area have complained that some officers have resorted to calling 911 -- tying up critical lines -- just to get hold of a dispatcher. Antiquated switches got the blame for many of the problems. Springfield should get its new switches by the end of this year. The other three cities will wait until 2000. The investment comes as a significant telecommunications bill, which would lessen the commission's authority over U S West and provide for rural investment, is about to come before the House. It has passed the Senate. The PUC, among others, has been fighting the bill because it does not think U S West or the marketplace is ready. State Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches, who voted for the bill, said the investment was good news but not meaningful for truly underserved areas such as Prineville and Enterprise. "I would be skeptical those investments are anything more than what they need to do to maintain a competitive environment for themselves," Metsger said. "To me, it is just practical business sense and not anything I would call new investment for underserved areas. It may be new and improved investment for poorly served areas. "This doesn't necessarily perk my ears up," he said. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA