KY Lege Voting Tuesday to End Basic Phone Service

As I wrote last month, this is personal for me. I have no access to reliable cell phone service nor internet broadband. My only internet access is dial-up through my AT&T landline phone. My only hope of reaching police or firefighters in an emergency is my AT&T landline phone. And I live less than an hour from the two largest cities in the state.

AT&T's claims of cell service availability throughout rural Kentucky is a lie. This bill will cut thousands of rural Kentuckians, as well as the poor and elderly in urban areas, off from any phone service at all.

From the free press action fund:

AT&T is trying to take away affordable basic telephone service in Kentucky.

The giant telecom is behind state legislation that would allow it to stop providing basic phone service to parts of Kentucky. We’ve just learned that the bill is being pushed through committee tomorrow, March 13th. We need you to call committee members TODAY to stop this bill:

Call 1-800-372-7181 today and tell the Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee:

Don’t let AT&T take away basic phone service in Kentucky. Please vote against SB 12 and any other attempt to deny Kentuckians the right to connect.

Right now, AT&T is a "carrier of last resort" for residents in rural Kentucky. That means it has an obligation to serve people throughout the state — regardless of where they live or how much profit AT&T might make from the connection.

This bill would allow AT&T to sever the phone connections of Kentuckians who need them the most. If this bill passes, phone companies will no longer be required to provide affordable landline telephone service — including the networks used to provide 911 emergency service.1

Many people in rural parts of the country — and especially in rural Kentucky — live in areas with no cellphone reception, no cable and no DSL. If AT&T convinces the state legislature to pass this bill, people who live in these parts of the state will be severely limited in their ability to communicate with the outside world.

If we band together we can stop this bill in its tracks. Please call 1-800-372-7181 today and tell the Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee: Rural Kentucky needs phone service. Vote against SB 12.

Thank you,
Misty, Tess and the rest of the Free Press Action Fund team

P.S. You can also call members of the committee individually to express your concern about this bill. Visit this page to make a call: http://act2.freepress.net/go/9094?akid=3357.9412689.yNiSQG&t=3

1. "Why is Deregulating Basic Telephone Service Bad for Kentucky's Phone Customers," Kentucky Resources Council, Feb. 23, 2012: http://act2.freepress.net/go/9093?akid=3357.9412689.yNiSQG&t=5

Free Press Action Fund is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. The Free Press Action Fund does not support or oppose any candidate for public office. Learn more at www.freepress.net.