Fwd: Pac Bell proposing BASIC PLUS service which would include Internet access

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

        PACIFIC BELL ANNOUNCES VISION FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE;
            Proposes choice of two basic service packages


LOS ANGELES--Feb. 16, 1994-Speaking at a public hearing held by the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA),
Pacific Bell's Charles Smith, vice president and general
manager for the Los Angeles region, announced Pacific Bell's vision
of universal service for the Information Age.




        "Information technology must be used to advance social
integration,not to push it backward,"  said Smith.  "Our company does
not takeAmerica's social integration goals lightly.  On the contrary,
we takeit as our responsibility to contribute, and we understand that
ourcapacity to contribute is great,"  he said.




        Smith pointed out that Pacific Bell provides discounted
telephone service for low income customers who qualify, and in fact,
serves more Universal Lifeline Telephone Service customers than all
1400 local phone companies in the country combined.




        In describing Pacific Bell's vision for universal service,
Smith explained that the company believes there should be a choice of
two basic service packages, both available to all customers and with
Lifeline plans for both:


        -    BASIC SERVICE - to include voice grade dial tone, touch


        tone, access to 9-1-1 emergency services, the Operator,


        4-1-1 Information, 6-1-1 repair service and annual


        white page directories.


        -    BASIC PLUS - to include user-friendly access to


        wideband services, such as databases and the Internet.


        This service, available to everyone, would be optional


        at the customer's request and would cost more than


        basic service.




        Pacific Bell's proposal for two basic service packages is
supportive of the California Public Utility Commission's (CPUC)
position taken in its recent infrastructure report to the Governor.




        In Smith's statement at the public hearing, he also discussed
the subsidy issue, saying "whatever subsidies are raised should be
collected in a competitively neutral way from ALL companies that
supply telecommunications in any form.  We leave unresolved the
question of precisely when a provider of local service assumes the
obligation of providing universal service, but there should be no
threshold below which a provider can escape the obligation to
contribute toward the support of low-income customers,"  he said.




        Smith also talked about Pacific Bell's announcement Monday to
put$100 million into a program for school and library digital wiring.
"We believe there should be special discount rates for public
schools, libraries, hospitals and clinics,"  he said.  "We will seek
a discount school rate from the Public Utilities Commission
immediately.  All 7400 locations will be wired in less than three
years."




        In closing, Smith emphasized two other core beliefs:


        -    Pacific Bell believes in open access for the purpose of


        providing information, as well as for the purpose of


        buying it.


        -    Pacific Bell believes we'll need public electronic


        libraries, just as we've needed public libraries in the


        paper world.


        Pacific Bell is a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Group, a
diversified worldwide telecommunications corporation based in San
Francisco.




        CONTACT:  Pacific Bell


        Gary Sanderson, 213/975-4074


        Charlene Baldwin, 415/542-4640