PUC's Decision To Deregulate Verizon Landline Service Could Prove Costly To Consumers
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A warning to those who get their home phone service through a traditional landline: The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has just deregulated the service, and consumer advocates warn it could lead to a sharp increase in prices.
The Public Utility Commission approved Verizon's request to switch landline service from monopoly status -- subject to strict regulation -- to the less regulated "competitive" service. Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski says the company argued it's competing with wireless and cable companies, and even most landline customers aren't in it for home phone service.
"Just a small percentage of customers even subscribe to basic local phone service," he says. "Most of the customers subscribe to bundle packages that include voice, Internet and TV service."
Geirczynski declined to say how many customers might be affected, but state consumer advocate Tanya McCloseky fears they are among the most vulnerable.
"A significant number of elderly customers still utilize that service," McCloseky says, "because it provides safety for them particularly for medical alerts and emergency purposes."
She says many of them are on fixed incomes and don't necessarily want a bundle of services with a with a lot of additional features.
McCloskey says Verizon has raised rates in every other state where it's been deregulated. She says increases have ranged from five-percent to more than double. But Gierczysnski claims the company has no immediate plans for a rate increase in the Philadelphia region.