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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend April 21, 2004 PUC signs to expand calling area By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune Southern Oregon will enjoy toll-free calling in 18 exchanges by October, the Public Utilities Commission has ruled. The PUC on Monday signed an order establishing the state’s second largest calling zone, which encompasses Grants Pass, Medford, Ashland and outlying areas in Jackson and Josephine counties. The new region will go into effect no later than Oct. 2, said PUC information officer Bob Valdez. Shayne Maxwell, project initiator and chairwoman of the citizens advisory task force, said the time spent chasing this goal was well worth it. "Two years of hard work from so many good people has paid off," said Maxwell. "I think this is going to have tremendous economic benefits to local businesses. Residential customers can talk to family members, parents can talk to their kids’ schools, people can call their doctors. The list goes on and on." Advertisement The commission reached its decision following extensive public outreach throughout the region. This included seven open houses to inform customers of the proposed rates and to solicit comments regarding the designated region. Customers in high-cost exchanges were polled. New rates will vary among the four telephone companies that serve the region: Qwest, Verizon, Sprint United and Citizens. Most exchanges will see relatively minor rate increases on their phone bill. More than 94 percent of the customers in the proposed region will see monthly increases of less than $1 for regional calling. Customers who will see the largest increase are in outlying areas, such as Prospect. Prospect, Shady Cove, Butte Falls and White City are all serviced by Sprint United. Prospect customers originally decided not to join the zone this winter after learning their monthly extended-service rates would increase from $3.20 to at least $9. The PUC later ordered Sprint United to reconfigure its rates and reballot Prospect customers after letting them know their rates will be increasing to $8.56 regardless of whether they join the calling region. Prospect then voted to join the region. In contrast, Qwest customers — who make up 90 percent of the region’s caller base — will pay only 27 cents more per month to receive seven-digit dialing and eliminate local toll charges. Valdez said staff worked to ensure the rates proposed by the four telephone companies were fair to consumers and revenue neutral to the companies. The phone companies were allowed to recover costs of implementing the region, but were not allowed to profit from its creation. Customers for all phone companies will continue to have two options for calling rates. They can either choose a flat calling rate or utilize the option of a measured rate which is billed on a per minute basis. "I am very pleased we are moving forward and are able to give Southern Oregon residents something they clearly wanted," Commissioner Chairman Lee Beyer said in a press release. "It took a lot of hard work by the citizens task force, the Southern Oregon legislative delegation and the commission to bring about the change." Customers are encouraged to provide comment by e-mail to [email protected]. Further information is available at www.notoll.org or www.puc.state.or.us . The following are the new monthly residential rates for extended area of service: Prospect $9.00 Shady Cove $9.00 Butte Falls $9.00 White City $9.00 Central Point $2.20 Medford $2.20 Phoenix/Talent $2.20 Ashland $2.20 Jacksonville $2.20 Gold Hill $2.20 Rogue River $2.20 Grants Pass $2.20 Murphy/Provolt $5.60 Selma $11.74 Cave Junction $3.37 O’Brien $8.98 Wolf Creek $12.04 Glendale $4.36 The following are the new monthly business rates for extended area of service: Prospect $14.85 Shady Cove $14.85 Butte Falls $14.85 White City $14.85 Central Point $3.27 Medford $3.27 Phoenix/Talent $3.27 Ashland $3.27 Jacksonville $3.27 Gold Hill $3.27 Rogue River $3.27 Grants Pass $3.27 Murphy/Provolt $8.50 Selma $23.48 Cave Junction $6.74 O’Brien $17.96 Wolf Creek $24.08 Glendale $10.80 Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . 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