[NCARC] Greeley autopatch

[SCOMIND at aol.com]

Guys,
 
Looks like we won't have to maintain a repeater in the Greeley calling area  
just for the purpose of keeping no-cost autopatch calls.
 
73,
Bob
 
 
DENVER - A judge has approved an agreement to expand Northern Colorado's  
local calling area to make calls between locations in Larimer and Weld counties  
toll-free. 
After a 20-day public comment period, described as a mere  formality by 
parties involved in the case, an implementation schedule will be  set that could 
end long-distance toll charges as soon as this summer. 
The  decision by Administrative Law Judge William Fritzel, mailed Wednesday, 
ends  months of wrangling between Qwest Communications International Inc. and  
Colorado's consumer watchdog agency. 
The two were at odds over how much  Qwest would gain in rate increases to 
compensate for the loss of long-distance  charges. 
Residential customers are the biggest winners with the settlement,  since 
they will incur no additional monthly charges except nominal increases for  those 
who choose non-published or non-listed numbers. 
And commercial users  will hardly notice a monthly increase of 17 cents for a 
basic business line.  
"I guess you could say we're all pretty happy about this," said Renee  
Wheeler, Loveland's assistant city manager who coordinated the effort by city  and 
county governments to steer the phone company and the state toward the  
agreement. 
Wheeler said the process that began almost 18 months ago required  lots of 
patience and perseverance while the Office of Consumer Counsel, the  state 
agency that advocates for consumers in utility rate cases, did battle with  Qwest. 
"It was not so easy," she said. "The biggest hurdle overall for the  project 
was settling the difference between the OCC's position and Qwest's  position 
on rates. The OCC was worried about residential customers being  mandated for 
monthly fees." 
Qwest officials could not be reached on Friday  for comment on the decision. 
Large commercial users, especially businesses  that span county and city 
boundaries, stand to gain hefty savings once the toll  charges are dropped. 
Centennial Bank of the West, for example, incurs about  $20,000 annually in 
long-distance charges between locations that now include  acquisitions in 
Denver and Longmont, said Paul Taylor, Centennial's chief  financial officer. 
About $12,000 of that amount - owing to calls between  Larimer and Weld 
locations - will be saved when the new agreement takes effect,  he said. 
"It's also just a huge hassle factor, trying to remember when you  need to 
dial a "1" plus the area code for a call to the next town," Taylor said.  "It 
will be great not to have to deal with that. 
The only charges  residential customers would incur under the plan are for 
non-listed or  non-published numbers. The monthly charge for a non-listed number 
will rise 20  cents from $1.80 to $2, and users of non-published numbers will 
rise from $2.50  to $2.55. 
Non-published numbers are not available to the public, while  non-listed 
numbers do not appear in directories but are accessible through  directory 
assistance.