AT&T asked North Carolina regulators to suspend action on its pro...

skeptical state officials. It said it would file a revised proposal at a future date, after further market research to refine its plan. It indicated to regulators that a future test might be scaled back to just one of the two proposed cities, probably Raleigh. The North Carolina Office of Public Staff, which represents consumer interests, told the Utilities Commission that the proposal is a reduction in service that’s particularly troublesome since AT&T this summer was allowed to increase its 411 directory assistance rate to $1.27 and cut the monthly free-call allowance to three calls. State officials also questioned AT&T’s plan to not include extended area business listings in the revised yellow pages books, forcing businesses in outlying areas to buy a yellow pages listing if they wanted to be in the new directories. AT&T (Case P-55, Sub 1718) last week told the Utilities Commission that white pages directories impose environmental and economic costs for a product that often sees little use. It said the test could keep nearly 4 million pounds of paper out of the solid waste stream if the Raleigh and Charlotte customers embraced the online and CD-ROM alternatives for residential listings as AT&T expected. Commissioner Robert Owens suggested that if AT&T really was acting for the good of the environment rather than just saving money on printing phone books, it should also consider putting the yellow pages online or on CD-ROM instead of continuing them in printed form. AT&T said the test was to assess both customer satisfaction and economic payoff. AT&T said if more than 30 percent of customers requested printed white pages listings, it would be cheaper to switch back to traditional mass directory deliveries to every subscriber. AT&T this year delivered over 900,000 copies of its white pages books in the two cities, with each book weighing about four pounds, but had proposed a pilot test next year where it wouldn’t provide print white pages in Raleigh and Charlotte unless customers specifically requested a free printed copy. AT&T’s 38 other directories in the state wouldn’t be affected. AT&T said most people use local white pages directories only to look up business and government numbers, and keep personal numbers stored in their phones, computers or other personal directories. It said business and government listings would be shifted to an expanded print yellow pages directory that would continue to be distributed to each subscriber. AT&T was the first major telecom carrier to propose ending automatic distribution of white pages phone books.