Oct. 24--The person whose job it is to stand up for consumers in utility matters said she sees nothing to like about legislation that would overhaul regulation of Ohio's telephone industry.

"We can't find one provision in this bill that we think is a benefit to consumers," Janine Migden-Ostrander, the Ohio consumers' counsel, told reporters yesterday. "The proposed legislation would harm consumers by allowing rate increases, weakening consumer protections, reducing low-income customer benefits, lowering service quality standards and failing to expand broadband."

Migden-Ostrander has teamed up with groups including AARP Ohio and the Ohio Poverty Law Center to fight legislation that supporters say will update Ohio regulation to keep up with major changes in the telecom industry.

Identical measures, House Bill 276 and Senate Bill 162, are being heard in each legislative chamber. The Ohio Telecom Association says the changes are needed because it has lost 43 percent of its land-line customers since 2001.

"The pace of change has picked up dramatically," said Charles Moses, president of the Ohio Telecom Association. "We have less than 30 percent of the voice market in Ohio, yet we have all the regulations that our competitors do not. This bill gets us closer to the way they're regulated and allows us to be more competitive."

Migden-Ostrander said most telephone companies have received an average return on equity of at least 8 percent per year for the past five years. The return for AT&T was 11.5 percent.

"When telephone companies say they need this because they are having a hard time, it kind of strains credibility," she said.

Migden-Ostrander outlined a number of concerns about the bill:

--It makes it easier for phone companies to raise monthly rates on basic service by up to $1.25 each year, which could mean increases of 17 percent to more than 90 percent after three years.

--The bill increases the allowable deposit required by telephone companies from 230 percent of an average monthly bill to 300 percent. It also includes a second fee, allowing telephone companies to recover losses associated with the $3.50 discount given to low-income Lifeline customers.

--Minimum telephone service standards would be replaced with "weaker laws" for customers who take basic service -- a phone line with no frills. The bill also contains no basic protections for customers with bundled packages, which includes extras such as caller ID, she said.

--It would reduce customer service by allowing companies to take longer to reconnect services when someone was disconnected for non-payment or if a phone line goes out of service.

A customer left without phone service for several days currently gets an automatic credit for one month of service. Under the bill, the customer would have to apply to get the credit.

"If this legislation is enacted, there will be a downward spiral in service quality," said Ron Bridges, director of policy and government affairs for AARP Ohio.

Not so, Moses said. "We want to take care of our customers. If you believe there is competition, we are going to do everything we can to keep the customer."

Sen. Stephen Buehrer, a Republican from Delta and a bill sponsor, said 26 other states have passed similar legislation. "We're not doing something that is a radical departure from the trend that is out there," he said.

Buehrer said he is willing to work with Migden- Ostrander on some of her concerns.

jsiegel@dispatch.com

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