CCC PPPPP U U CCC N N EEEEE W W W SSS C C P p U U C C NN N E W W W S S C P P U U C N N N E W W W S C PPPPP U U C N N N EEE W W W W SSS C P U U C N N N E WW WW S C C P U U C C N NN E W W S S CCC P UUUU CCC N N EEEEE W W SSS CONTACT: Kyle DeVine October 6, 1995 CPUC - 548 213-897-4225 (D.95-07-050) CPUC PROVIDES MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announces two more hearings in Southern California to hear public comment about "universal service" proposed rules to ensure Californians continue to have access to basic phone service at reasonable rates when local service competition begins next year. Hearing schedule follows: Monday, October 23, 7 p.m. - San Fernando Council Chambers 117 Macneil Street Monday, October 30, 7 p.m. - Garden Grove Community Center 11300 Stanford Avenue Hearings rooms are wheelchair accessible. Special accommodations, such as language interpreters, can be made by calling the CPUC Public Advisor office at 213-897-3544 by October 16 for the San Fernando hearing and by October 23 for the Garden Grove hearing. Universal service means providing virtually all Californians with essential phone service at reasonable rates no matter what their income level or where they live - it generally costs more to serve rural and mountain area communities than cities. The cost of phone service needs to remain affordable for low-income consumers. If competition reduces the number of customers local phone companies have, some customers could face very high rates for basic service unless the funding for universal service proposed by the new rules is implemented. -more- At each hearing, a brief description of the Commission universal service proposal will be given. It: identifies telecommunications services which should be considered basic service, proposes ways to ensure service in areas that are expensive for local phone companies to serve, retains the Universal Lifeline program for low-income customers, and requires all phone companies to use a standard format for describing services so consumers can easily compare different companies' rates and services. A fact sheet describing the Commission proposal is available from the CPUC Public Advisor (see address last paragraph). The Commission wants to hear what consumers have to say about: 0 How the Commission can make sure all Californians, including people with low incomes and those who live in areas that are expensive to serve, will continue to receive telecommunications services at reasonable rates in a competitive environment. 0 Which telecommunications services all Californians need. 0 What information consumers need to make informed choices about which phone company to choose for local phone service. 0 Whether consumers are satisfied with the level of service they currently receive. Anyone who cannot attend a hearing and would like to submit comments can do so by writing to: Public Advisor, California Public Utilities Commission, 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 5303, San Francisco, CA 94102 or sending electronic mail to: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov. State that you are writing about Universal Service Rules (D.95-07-050). -###-