• The Bay Country Estates Homeowners Association is an incorporated Community Association. The homeowners, residents, and businesses in Dunkirk and the surrounding areas from Prince Frederick, to Waldorf, to Chesapeake Beach, to Deale, to Harwood, to Edgewater, etc., are all customers of BA-MD. As the President of said Homeowners Association, I am acting on behalf of the Association, and as a resident I am also acting on behalf of the surrounding Communities.

• The Bay Country Estates Homeowners Association, Inc., is an Association of Maryland residents who reside in an area of Southern Anne Arundel County--bordering Calvert County -- known as Dunkirk. Dunkirk and the communities from the surrounding areas from Prince Frederick to Waldorf, to Harwood, to Edgewater, etc., are all geographically located very near the convergence of five counties: Anne Arundel, Calvert, Prince George's, Charles, and Saint Mary's Counties.

• For over 15 years, the geographical areas in Dunkirk and the surrounding Communities from Prince Frederick to Waldorf, to Harwood, to Edgewater, etc., have all grown over a thousand fold. As a result of this immense expansion in suburban area growth and technological advancements, BA-MD, rather than keeping pace and restructuring the telephone exchanges in order to modify the way it allocates its telephone services, has continued and continues to maintain the telephone exchanges as a rural farm area with service directed mainly south towards Solomons Island. This action has adversely affected the rates that homeowners, residents, businesses, and government agencies pay as customers in the surrounding areas for the sake of higher profits to BA-MD. However, BA-MD has been blaming the constraints of the calling areas on Federal Law, regulations, and the Local Access Transport Area (LATA) [or contiguous geographic area] boundary divides in Southern Maryland along the Patuxent River (Attachment A), and other areas in relation to Federal Judge Harold Greene's previous court decrees that imposed certain restrictions that were binding on the parties. Judge Greene's main ruling in this case, was designed to break-up the Bell Companies and AT&T into little "Baby Bells" because there was no competition in the telecommunications industry. In addition, the Bell and AT&T telephone company monopolies were unfair to other telephone carriers. This decision was to have made changes for the better. Well, since 1982 there have been no improvements. As a result, telephone and cable rates have continued to increase dramatically over the years.

• The residents of Dunkirk and the surrounding areas have in overwhelming numbers signed the PETITION requesting expanded local telephone services and improved rates. Many customers have indicated that they have been forced to purchase a foreign exchange (FX), otherwise known as a metro service from Bell Atlantic-Maryland, in order to have the ability to make local telephone calls versus local "toll" calls into the District of Columbia (D.C.), and its suburban areas, as well as the Annapolis metropolitan areas, and its suburban areas. (See letters of support from Congressman Steny H. Hoyer, the Anne Arundel County Council, the Calvert County Commissioners, the Charles County Commissioners, the Prince Frederick Chamber of Commerce, the Dunkirk Area Concerned Citizens Association, the Wooded Valley Estates Community Association, including the more than 14,000 PETITION signatures that have been collected from homeowners, residents, businesses, and government agencies requesting expanded local telephone calling areas) (see Attachment B). Further, many of these customers, especially those that can afford it, have purchased anywhere from two to three or more different telephone exchanges in order to maximize and save on "local" long distance telephone calling into the D.C., and Annapolis metropolitan areas. Also, we believe that businesses and government agencies should not be penalized for each and every telephone call that they have to make in conducting everyday business. This is just another form of discrimination!

• a) The Wooded Valley Estates Community Association one-half mile from our Association has 48 households, and 100 percent of them have also purchased an 855- D.C. metro FX telephone service from BA-MD.

• b) The large percentage of residential customers who have purchased metro foreign exchange services in Dunkirk and the surrounding areas have indicated that their "community of interest" is oriented towards the D.C., and Annapolis metropolitan areas from as far south as Solomons Island, including Saint Mary's County across the Patuxent River to Leonardtown and St. Mary's City, to areas such as Waldorf and LaPlata in Charles County, to Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County, to Deale, and Edgewater in Anne Arundel County, etc. The District of Columbia is the seat of the Federal government, and Annapolis the seat of the Local government to which many residents have many occasions to call, and other immediate services that they should be able to reach without paying a toll or local long distance charges. Furthermore, perhaps most important, residents in some instances cannot call their local police station without paying toll charges. (Even when 911 is called, residents are usually not routed to a station in their jurisdiction).

• c) Many of the homeowners, residents, and businesses that have already signed the petition, have indicated that they are tired of being "ripped-off" by BA-MD on the FX metro mileage charges and surcharges that are being paid to BA-MD and to other carriers. Numerous other customers have indicated that, if there would have been another local telecommunications carrier available in the state, they would have jumped ship a long time ago. A multitude of customers who have already changed long distance carriers are using that carriers intra-state codes to avoid paying the higher "local" toll fees as many carriers, like LCI Communications, have lower rate fees and round-off each telephone call in six seconds increments from the time it is connected (see Attachment D), versus rounded-up to the next minute as charged by Bell Atlantic's local long distance toll calls (see Attachment E), and that of some other telecommunication carriers like AT&T.

(1) We realize that lines have to be drawn somewhere, but BA-MD has enjoyed a monopoly unto itself for far too long. Unfortunately, these boundary lines that were unilaterally drawn have isolated these areas for over 20 years, and excluded residents and businesses from making local telephone calls to D.C., and its suburban areas, as well as the Annapolis metropolitan areas for far too long. We cannot continue our current situation with quick fixes and poorly planned geographical telephone exchanges and limited calling areas, all for the sake of higher profits. A map of the ideal calling areas, and data of who is excluded versus who is included in a particular calling area shows the disparate treatment that is being provided by Bell Atlantic (see Attachment F). Footnote 1. In Order No. 57936, Case No. 6233 (Phase II), LXI MD. P.S.C. 123 (1970), the Commission ordered C&P [A.K.A. - Bell Atlantic/Verizon] (among other directives) to broaden the calling privileges of the Sykesville exchange. The Commission set forth its standard for expanding a local calling area at 124-125: In requiring the foregoing alterations, the Commission is mindful of the fact that there is a relationship between the scope of local calling privileges and the rates for basic telephone service.

a) Since Judge Greene's court decrees did nothing to improve competition, the U.S. Congress passed [House, 414 Yes - 16 No; Senate, 91 Yes - 5 No] the "Telecommunications Act of 1996." On February 8, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law. Consequently, the new Federal law preempted any conflicting rules or court orders like Judge Greene's. Therefore, the AT&T Consent Decree that was entered on August 24, 1982, in the Antitrust Action in the U.S. Department of Justice vs. Western Electric, Civil Action #82-0192, and subsequent orders on or after August 24, 1982, were effectively terminated.

b) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must now determine just how pro-competitive the new regulatory policies will be from the legislative mandate that was enacted. In this same fashion, consumers are supposed to benefit from this new law because it "officially" begins to break up the "local telephone service monopolies." The new telecommunications law will also force the issue by ordering a new framework for universal service and ensuring that affordable telephone service be provided for all Americans equally. For example: if call waiting costs the phone company less than $.50, and they are allowed to charge consumers $8 would be highway robbery, etc. The test then is for consumers to take charge of the marketplace, and to force the rates to come down; this will prevent the big telecommunication carriers from building-up their profits at the expense of the consumers.

c) Additionally, monopolies have traditionally always recommended that competition take place in all markets except for their own. The FCC's new tentative decision to spur competition for "wireless" communication carriers will undoubtedly be attacked by lawyers and lobbyists for those who would preserve their local monopolies at the expense of permitting new services and lower prices for subscribers.

d) We believe that the intent of this new legislation was to give telecommunication carriers more freedom to provide consumers with better and cheaper local telephone service. If we are to have a "win-win era for the consumer and for the telecommunications industry", then it is time for the FCC and the Commission provide a decision that will benefit consumers and not make decisions that will just provide higher profits for big business.

Because of these precedents, BA-MD's customers are now entitled to local calling arrangements which are reasonable under all of the above circumstances. We believe that change is a healthy process, and that under these new circumstances it can be an asset that will increase productivity resulting in profitability. Unfortunately, if Bell Atlantic does not make the necessary changes to stay competitive in a fast paced ever changing industry, and meet the goals and expectations of its customers now, the arrival of outsiders such as LCI, SPRINT, AT&T, MCI, and other telecommunications carriers that will be bidding for local telephone access may force a change that BA-MD does not want to see, and eventually it will move even more profits away from the local Baby Bell, to an even smaller profit base as customers leave to the "competition". For Bell to survive in this new technological age, it needs to provide customers with better and cheaper "local telephone service and expanded calling areas." If this occurs, maybe then will Bell Atlantic see an increase in the number of customers that will reach out to a kinder and considerate company that provides for its community, rather than to fade like the dinosaurs of long ago.

          Number of Calvert County residents - 68,000

- Increased 16,000 since 1990; trend expected to continue.
- Available civilian labor force - 35,000 +/-
-   9,552 added since 1990;
- 33,175 commute on Route 2/4 daily thru Prince Frederick*
- 25,625 commute on Route 4 daily thru Dunkirk*
- 20,150 commute on Route 2 daily thru Lothian*
- 23,750 commute on Route 2/4 daily thru Port Republic*
- 16,686 commute on Route 2/4 daily through Solomons*
- 56,575 commute on Route 301 daily through Waldorf*

- 40,375± of the labor force commute out daily towards the District

         - 40,000± of the labor force commute out daily towards Annapolis

SOURCE: Calvert County Economic Development Commission and the
                 Maryland State Highway Administration*

Respectfully submitted,

           Ivan Petric
Individually and as President
           On behalf of the Bay Country Estates
Homeowners Association, Inc.,
                       and Surrounding Communities, et.al.

           Dunkirk, MD 20754
 

Enclosures
(See PSC web page)


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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that the attached document(s) were sent by regular mail, unless otherwise indicated below, this day to each of the following:

Honorable H. Russell Frisby, Jr.
Chairman
Public Service Commission of Maryland
6 St. Paul Street, 16th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202-6806

Theresa V. Czarski, Esq.
Maryland People's Counsel
6 St. Paul Street, Suite 21202
Baltimore, MD 21202-6806

Respondent
Daniel J. Whelan, President and CEO
Bell Atlantic-Maryland, Inc.
1 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

February 17, 1997                                              /s/
  (Date)                                                                 Ivan Petric

** Notice: Attachments are available at the PSC Website due to space limitations.

E-mail: I_Petric@hotmail.com Copyright © 1998 Petric Web Productions



This document was last updated on:  , 10/11/00