Jamie,
Too many Americans are required to drive our highways in Fords and
Chevrolet. THIS MUST STOP.
My committee the AD HOC COMMITTEE TO PROVIDE LUXURY AUTOS TO ALL
is contacting government leaders to demand that they provide
Lincolns, Cadillacs and Jaguars for $10 more than the cost of Fords
and Chevrolets.
Interested parties call 800 PRICEFIX
Speaking for Myself
John
In message Wed, 10 May 1995 06:50:55 -0700,
James Love <love@Essential.ORG> writes:
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> TAP-INFO - An Internet newsletter available from listproc@tap.org
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> TAXPAYER ASSETS PROJECT - INFORMATION POLICY NOTE
> May 9, 1995
>
> - Ad Hoc Coalition to press for Low Cost ISDN Service
>
> - Your help is needed
>
> The following is a sign-on letter to the House Subcommittee on
> Telecommunications and Finance, asking that they include a
> section in HR 1555 which would require dominant local exchange
> carriers to provide ISDN connections priced no more than the cost
> of voice service plus the incremental cost of providing ISDN. We
> believe that in many markets the additional cost of configuring a
> voice line to ISDN (excluding customer premise equipment) is less
> than $10 per month. ISDN service can be configured to provide
> connections to the World Wide Web at around 128k, nearly 10 times
> as fast as a 14.4 modem. This is a two part process. First, we
> are soliciting names for a sign-on letter to the Subcommittee.
> Second, we will be asking people to contact the Subcommittee
> members directly about this issue.
> James Love TAP (202/387-8030; love@tap.org)
>
> To sign the letter, please send the following information to Mike
> Ward (mike@tap.org; fax 202/234-5176; voice: 202/387-8030).
>
> Name: ______________________________________
> Affiliation (optional) ______________________________________
> (for purposes of identification only)
> Address: ______________________________________
> City, State, zip ___________________, _____, __________
> (Very Important)
> voice telephone (___)_____________
> (for verification)
> email address ______________________________________
>
> comments ______________________________________
> (to be attached to the letter)
>
> Here is the letter we will be giving the Subcommittee.
>
> Ad Hoc Coalition for Low Cost ISDN
>
> Dear Members of the Subcommittee on
> Telecommunications and Finance:
>
> We are writing to urge the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and
> Finance to address an important issue for consumers of new
> information technologies. At present it is possible to provide
> high speed digital connections to millions of homes and
> businesses using ISDN, a technology that allows for much faster
> data transfers than modems over voice grade telephone lines.
> This service can be provided over ordinary telephone lines, and
> can be deployed cheaply. Some studies suggest that after
> installation, ISDN can be delivered to homes for less than $10
> per month more than consumers now pay for ordinary telephone
> service.
>
> Unfortunately, local exchange telephone companies often charge
> fees which are far above cost. The high prices for ISDN services
> is one of the most important barriers to the deployment of a
> fully switched digital network. Prices are highly varied from
> community to community, ranging from $25 to $100 per month for
> some basic line charges. Moreover, many local exchange carriers
> charge costly per minute ($.01 to $.15 per minute) or per data
> packet charges. These usage charges can end up costing hundreds
> of dollars per month in some markets.
>
> In general, the local exchange carriers consider ISDN a potential
> cash cow, because they can charge high prices for a service that
> can be delivered over the existing copper wire infrastructure.
>
> If local exchange carriers made ISDN service available at prices
> closer to cost, there would be a huge increase in the demand for
> the service, particularly for persons who use the Internet's
> World Wide Web. This is a very popular network, which works best
> with the higher speed connections that are possible with ISDN.
>
> In HR 1555 Congress is proposing a number of measures that will
> encourage competition for local exchange telephone service. If
> there was vigorous competition for local exchange service,
> carriers would not be able to charge prices for ISDN service that
> are so far above cost. However, for millions of residential
> consumers competition is still years away.
>
> We propose a provision in HR 1555 that will require a dominant
> local exchange carriers who provides ISDN services to charge no
> more than the cost of voice grade service, plus the incremental
> cost of the upgrade to ISDN. In the spirit of HR 1555, this
> requirement would be eliminated when the Commission determined
> the dominant carrier faces substantial competition for local
> exchange services in the residential market.
>
> As you know, a similar requirement was included in last year's
> legislation (HR 3636, 103rd congress), in the section on the
> "Open Platform." We were disappointed when the "Open Platform"
> service did not appear in HR 1555. We urge you to put a section
> in this year's bill which addresses this important problem.
>
>
> Recommended langauage:
>
> (xx) A common carrier providing local exchange telephone
> service that is the dominant carrier and that provides
> ISDN service to residential subscribers and small
> businesses shall make such a service available to the
> public for the price of a voice grade line plus no more
> than the incremental cost of providing the ISDN
> service. This requirement shall expire when the
> Commission determines that the common carrier faces
> substantial competition for local exchange services in
> the residential market.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> CONTACT INFORMATION FOR HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE
> ON TELECOMMUNICATION AND FINANCE
>
>
> Here are the members of the House Subcommittee on
> Telecommunications and Finance. Please contact them individually
> in support of an amendment requiring low cost ISDN service. If
> you send a fax, you may want to put something like ATTENTION: HR
> 1555, since Congressional offices receive quite a bit of mail,
> and this makes it easier to route. If you live in the same state
> or district of a member, you might want to call the office and
> ask for the name of the staffer is who is following the
> telecommunications regulation bills. Calls or faxes from
> constituents are by far the most effective.
>
> HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND FINANCE
>
> PHONE FAX EMAIL
>
> REPUBLICANS
> Fields, Chmn. 226-2424 226-4105
> Oxley, Michael(OH) 225-2676 226-1160
> Moorhead,Carlos(CA) 225-4176 226-1279
> Schaefer, Dan (CO) 225-7882 225-7885 schaefer@hr.house.gov
> Barton,Joe (TX) 225-2002 225-3052
> Hastert,Dennis (IL) 225-2976 225-0697 dhastert@hr.house.gov
> Stearns,Cliff (FL) 225-5744 225-3973 cstearns@hr.house.gov
> Paxon,Bill (NY) 225-5625 225-5910
> Gillmor,Paul(OH) 225-6405 225-1985
> Klug,Scott(WI) 225-2906 225-6492
> Cox,Christopher(CA) 225-5611 225-9177
> Frisa,Dan(NY) 225-5516 225-3817
> White,Rick(WA) 225-6311 225-3524 repwhite@hr.house.gov
> Coburn,Tom(OK) 225-2701 225-3038
> Bliley,Tom(VA) 225-2815 225-0011
>
> DEMOCRATS
> Markey, Edward(MA) 225-2836 225-1716
> Hall, Ralph(TX) 225-6673 225-3332
> Bryant, John(TX) 225-2231 225-0327
> Boucher, Rick(VA) 225-3861 225-0442 ninthnet@hr.house.gov
> Manton, Tom(NY) 225-3965 225-1909 tmanton@hr.house.gov
> Towns, Edolphus(NY) 225-5061 225-0843
> Studds, Gerry(MA) 225-3111 225-2212
> Gordon, Bart (TN) 225-4231 225-6887
> Rush, Bobby (IL) 225-4372 226-0333
> Eshoo, Anna (GA) 225-8104 225-8890 annagram@hr.house.gov
> Klink, Ron (PA) 225-2565 226-2274
> Dingell,John (MI) 225-4071
>
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>
John Byrnes
Counterpoint Publishing http://www.counterpoint.com
POB 928 or gopher.counterpoint.com
Cambridge, MA 02140
A Thomson Legal Publishing Co.
800 998 4515
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