DATA-LINE RATE HIKES SOUGHT.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Pacific Bell has quietly asked state regulators to double the per-minute rates for high-speed data lines. Saying costs have been higher than expected, the company filed for a rate increase Dec. 4 for lines in its integrated services digital network Integrated services digital network (ISDN) A generic term referring to the integration of communications services transported over digital facilities such as wire pairs, coaxial cables, optical fibers, microwave radio, and satellites. or ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. . ISDN lines carry data at two to four times the speed of the fastest modems in common use. Pacific Bell says it has nearly 60,000 ISDN lines to homes and businesses in California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). . The increase is being considered by the state Public Utilities Commission, which says it has received a variety of letters in opposition. The proposal would not increase the rates for the first minute of each transmission: 3.33 cents during daytime Daytime may refer to:
peak hours peak hours npl, peak period n → horas fpl punta peak hours peak npl → heures fpl d'affluence or de pointe , 2.33 cents in the evening, and 1.33 cents during nights and weekends. For each additional minute, rates would increase from 1.05 to 2.1 cents in the daytime, from 0.73 to 1.46 cents in the evening and from 0.42 to 0.84 of a cent at night and on weekends. The average residential customer would pay about $7 more a month, Pacific Bell spokeswoman Mary Hancock said Thursday. "We're still among the lowest-priced providers in the country" if the increase is approved, she said. The company also would charge an installation fee of $125 for home and business customers and $150 for businesses that use Centrex, an electronic switching system In telecommunications, an electronic switching system (ESS) is:
Monthly rates for Centrex lines would increase from $16 to $24. The proposal also includes some incentives, such as 20 hours of free residential calling any time except from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The company issued no news release when it proposed the increase but has distributed a fact sheet to explain it. Pacific Bell said its original rates were based on cost estimates that have proved too low. ISDN costs more to install than expected, and increasing number of installations are in homes far from the phone company's central offices, Pacific Bell said. It also said the lower off-peak rates prompted many customers to leave ISDN lines open throughout the evenings and weekends. |
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