The information included in accounts sent to Telus customers is completely inadequate to enable subscribers to form opinions on the merits or otherwise of the Telus submission.     On the face of it, their proposal would saddle subscribers with an open-ended obligation to fund improvements in unserved and underserved communities.

Their proposal also seeks authority to increase rates for residential local service by $3 per month which is in excess of 10% while limiting increases to business customers to a maximum of 10%.

These two proposals add a considerable burden to residential subscribers, particularly those on fixed incomes. We therefore ask that the authority requested by Telus should be denied, and that they be instructed to meet their obligation to provide adequate service coverage from  other revenue streams.   Based on Press Reports it would appear that this could be accomplished by a quite minimal percentage decrease in the funding currently directed to exotic and speculative business developments