From: sjwess@sympatico.ca[SMTP:sjwess@sympatico.ca]
Sent: September 25, 2001 2:26 PM
To: procedure@crtc.gc.ca
Subject: price cap review
Importance: High
To:Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa
From: John Wessenger, Box 298, Rosseau, Ont.
We have experienced bad service in our rural area (especially from Entourage). I can refer you to the Bell V.P. office of Repair for a case history.
We were told to upgrade our party-line (multi-line) service which had already tripled in cost to a private line at the unheard of rate of over $20.00 (approx.) per month with no improvement in service. Finally after decades of only being able to call locally to a couple of hundred people, our calling area was recently extended to Parry Sound, although many of us in this part of the 732 exchange never call 'that direction'. We had no local calling for all these years to any small town (e.g. Bracebridge, Parry Sound).
After two summers of frustration at trying to get a second line hooked up properly, we cannot support this monopoly situation asking for a rate increase.
We were told that all the advantages of urban services would now be available. Of course the extra 'call display, call waiting' were offered at the time after the rates for these services were raised by your commission to exorbitant levels. Most of these service improvements are not 'improvements'.
The cost of services by bell over the last few years because of the technology improvements and reduced hardware infrastructure costs have accrued to Bell, not to its customers, especially its rural customers. With the recent oversupply of carrier equipment for sale and increased supply from an increasing number of vendors, the cost to Bell for 'improvements' will decrease not rise.
Secondly, we were promised with the 'new access' to a local 'town' we would have the benefit of all the services that urban centers would have including internet service etc.
What a joke.
Bell offers us local service to the lowest speed service in the province with lots of interference on the lines,and little choice in one community (Parry Sound) for internet choice. The maximum speed of course is about 26,400kps if you are lucky.
Our phone bill has increased from about $4.00 per month plus phone rental to over $20.00 per month without rental in the last five years or so.
We still can only call Parry Sound but not Windemere, several KM down the road and certainly not Bracebridge, another small but local town which we are closer to.
We are totally opposed to any rate increase and based on our experience a rate decrease would be in order.
thank you,
JW.
cc. Bell Canada