Deregulating phone services in Pennsylvania would hurt access to...
Deregulating phone services in Pennsylvania would hurt access to broadband services and sharply increase phone rates, said a Keystone Research Center report released Wednesday (http://bit.ly/175DjPo). The Pennsylvania Legislature’s Consumer Affairs Committee scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 21 to discuss…
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House Bill 1608, which would allow phone companies in the state to raise rates with a one-day advance notice, said the report by the Pennsylvania public interest group. The bill would “abandon rural communities” by permitting telephone carriers to eliminate service to consumers that they do not want to serve starting in 2018, said the report. Public oversight of telco mergers would be eliminated, in addition to reporting requirements for phone rates, auditing requirements and quality-of-service requirements, said the report. “This bill is a pure giveaway to the companies involved because it has no public interest benefits,” said report author Nathan Newman. “This bill is a solution in search of a problem, and it does not help consumers in any way."