To whom it may concern:

I was reading our local paper and came across your add for the "Reviewing

Rules for Local Telephone Service Prices". It caught my attention because

I have been extremely frustrated with Bell Canada's Service lately and

found their proposals quite amusing. I wanted to write to express my views

and concerns.

My husband and I live on a farm in a somewhat remote area. We are

currently on a party line with three other households. It has been this

way for a very long time. Four households on one line is a very

frustrating situation in this day and age of advancing technology! I have

phoned Bell several time to inquire about a private line with no success.

I am always told that they will be putting in new lines approximately no

later than December 2001. This is the answer I have received for a couple

of years now. I still have no definite answer as to when I will get my

private line?

Bell's proposal to ensure that competition is "maintained" caught my

attention. As far as I am concerned, there is absolutely NO COMPETION that

I can turn to if I am not satisfied with Bell. My party line prohibits me

from changing over to a competitor like AT&T for instance. This to me is

not competition. Why am I not allowed to have the same rights as all the

other "private line" users. I pay my phone bill every month and should be

allowed all the benefits of a private line in the year 2001. If Bell has

so called "leading edge technology" I am still waiting to see it out here

on our farm in the country!

As for "benefiting from the world's lowest prices for Internet access", I

have yet to see any benefits as I cannot even have access to the internet.

Our farm is a business just like any other and I could benefit from the

internet tremendously. I have not been able to make my life easier with

personal banking, website information, etc. We are still doing things the

old way thanks to Bell. This inability to use the internet has made our

business more time consuming and lethargic.

There are a few other points I wish to bring to your attention as it makes

me feel better just to get them off my mind:

1) I have never been given a definite date as to when we will get our

private line. Also I feel I pay too much for this party line considering

the frustrations that we must endure.

2) The line is always tied up with other callers when you need to make an

important phone call. Four families on one line is just way too hectic and

some people are not considerate to others who need the line. (Personally,

we all pay a fee and deserve to talk as long as we need to but we have to

be courteous).

3) When I make a long distance call, I have to wait for the operation to

answer the line to take my number before my call goes through. That's

fine, but frequently the operators do not answer on the second or third

ring. I have waited for an operator to answer my call only after 26

rings!!!! What if it was an emergency and I had to call for help? This is

not impressive to me and puts added stress on my already frazzled patience.

4) Recently, someone on the other line forgot to hang the phone up

properly and all four households were unable to make any calls on the line

from 9:00 am to 4:00 PM in the afternoon. Living on a farm can be

dangerous and anything can happen at any time. What would I have done if

someone was seriously hurt and I had to call 911???? I could not use the

phone at all and it could have meant life or death for someone. This is a

very serious issue for me and I worry about it often. I had to travel to

the next town where my mother lives and place a call with Bell to have the

problem corrected. I called Bell at 11:00 am and the phone was not

functional until the late afternoon.

5) The phone rings for the other line in our house and can be quite

annoying at times. I understand that patience has to be put in place, but

how much longer do we have to live like this?

I hope you understand how I feel regarding this issue. I know that you

most likely have your own private line and do not have to contend with

these issues. But please try to understand my situation and what all four

of our households on this line have to go through everyday. It shouldn't

have to be like this and all I want is a definitive answer on when I will

have my very own private line? If anything, put my line in first! I am

screaming and no one at Bell is listening............

Thank you for your time and hopeful understanding.

Sincerely Frustrated in Dunham,

Sheila Weinhold

Customer