Senate Bill 271: Proposed legislation allows telephone companies to stop providing basic phone service in some areas

The Ohio General Assembly is considering legislation that would allow some telephone companies to withdraw regulated basic telephone service from their customers or charge customers whatever they choose for services.

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) is concerned about the impact Amended Substitute Senate Bill 271 (SB 271) could have on Ohio's telephone consumers. Allowing telephone companies to withdraw their basic service could:

• Leave some Ohioans without access to affordable telephone options;

• Force customers who want only basic telephone service to switch to other services that are more expensive and contain add-ons the customers do not want or need;

• Jeopardize customers' access to 9-1-1 emergency services by depending on telecommunications services that, unlike basic telephone service, may not work when the power goes out;

• Allow telephone companies to pick and choose their customers, enabling them to drop their service in, for example, remote communities where they may be less profitable; and,

• Remove the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's (PUCO's) discretion to determine what is in the best interest of telephone companies and their basic service customers.

In addition to allowing telephone companies to stop providing basic service, SB 271 would also remove the requirement for telephone companies to meet minimum service quality standards for basic service if all their exchanges are determined to be "fully competitive."

These service quality standards include protections for customers against unreasonable bill payment timelines, lengthy service outages and disconnections without notice, among other things.

Under current law, a telephone company may obtain more flexibility in pricing basic service rates by showing that two competing telecommunications services are available somewhere but not necessarily everywhere in the exchange.

SB 271 would apply this same test to allow telephone companies to withdraw their basic service from customers altogether. As a result, some customers may lose access to affordable and reliable local telephone service because there may not be a competitive telephone provider in their immediate area.

The OCC is working with legislators and other parties to protect consumers from the possibility of losing access to affordable and reliable telephone service.