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Ohioans Protecting Telephone Consumers

• Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel
• AARP Ohio
• Advocates for Basic Legal Equality
• Appalachian Peace and Justice Network
• Citizens Coalition
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• Ohio Poverty Law Center
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Contact: Ryan Lippe
Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel
(614) 466-7269

Consumer advocates to testify against telephone deregulation bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio – November 10, 2009 – Testimony scheduled to be given by consumer advocates at the Ohio Statehouse later today will show that House Bill 276 – legislation drafted by the telephone industry – provides benefits to local telephone companies at the expense of consumers.

Four of the consumer advocacy organizations forming Ohioans Protecting Telephone Consumers – the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), AARP Ohio, Ohio Poverty Law Center and Appalachian Peace and Justice Network – are among those expecting to testify at a House Public Utilities Committee hearing at 4 p.m. in Statehouse room 121.

“The telephone industry’s proposal provides no public benefit,” said Consumers’ Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander. “House Bill 276 allows increased rates, weakens consumer protections, weakens the low-income Lifeline program and reduces telephone service quality standards. This legislation as proposed will harm consumers in many ways and allow for deregulated monopolies in some areas.”

Migden-Ostrander questions the need to reward the local telephone companies with revenue considering that the major telephone providers boast five-year average returns on equity that range from a healthy 11.5 percent (AT&T) to an egregious 85.9 percent (Cincinnati Bell).

“Scaling back consumer protections deeply concerns Ohio’s seniors, a population that often relies on basic telephone service to connect with their family, doctors, emergency services and community,” said Earl Goldhammer, an advocacy volunteer with AARP Ohio. “Seniors will be at risk if the cost of their dial tone becomes unaffordable and telephone companies have no incentive to fix outages in a timely manner.”

Mike Smalz, an attorney for the Ohio Poverty Law Center and Appalachian Peace and Justice Network, urges lawmakers to consider the needs of low-income households across the state by rejecting the legislation. Many of these customers participate in Lifeline, a program that provides a monthly telephone service discount.

“A strong Lifeline telephone discount program is vital for low-income consumers, especially in a troubled economy,” said Smalz. “Now is not the time to limit consumers’ eligibility, scale back public awareness and expose low-income customers to annual rate increases. For these vulnerable Ohioans, it will feel like adding insult to injury.”

Ohioans Protecting Telephone Consumers opposes Senate Bill 162 and House Bill 276 in their current form because the legislation:

• Allows annual rate increases of $1.25 a year – with no regulatory review or justification – for the monthly basic local service rate for all Ohio local telephone companies;

• Allows telephone companies to impose an additional surcharge on telephone bills of non-Lifeline customers to pay for the portion of the Lifeline program that historically customers currently are paying for in their rates, which means that customers will be overcharged to provide this service;

• Weakens or removes consumer protections in important areas such as customer credits, billing, deposits, disconnection and reconnection standards;

• Reduces low-income consumer benefits by limiting Lifeline program eligibility and educational efforts about the program;

• Lowers telephone service quality standards by, among other things, allowing telephone companies to take 72 hours (three days) to restore outages, and five days to reconnect disconnected lines while eliminating the requirement that they provide a credit on the consumer’s bill if they fail to restore service;

• Fails to provide commitments for broadband access to all Ohioans; and

• Eliminates all consumer protections for all bundled telecommunication services.

Ohioans Protecting Telephone Consumers encourages the public to find out more about the legislation and contact their state legislators to express their opinions. Consumers can visit www.pickocc.org or call the OCC at 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622) toll free for more information.

About the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, represents the interests of 4.5 million households in proceedings before state and federal regulators and in the courts. The state agency also educates consumers about electric, natural gas, telephone and water issues and resolves complaints from individuals. To receive utility information, brochures, schedule a presentation or file a utility complaint, residential consumers may call 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622) toll free in Ohio or visit the OCC website at www.pickocc.org.