
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 23, 1993                   TAG: 9305230114
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

STATE REGULATORS TARGET PAY PHONES

State regulators want to crack down on public pay telephone companies that charge excessive rates for local calls, and those that don't let callers dial "0" or "911" without first depositing a coin.

The State Corporation Commission is seeking public comment on its first set of rules for pay telephone companies.

The General Assembly passed a law this year saying that pay phone operators seeking to do business in Virginia had to get authorization from the commission.

The new rules would bar pay phone companies from charging more for local calls than the local phone company does.

Toll calls within a region could not be more than $1 above the rate charged by the local phone company.

The commission's proposed rules would require all pay phones to:

Provide dial tones without requiring consumers to deposit a coin first.

Allow customers to dial the "911" emergency number without using a coin.

Allow customers to dial "0" and get the local phone company's operator.

Provide access to toll-free "800" numbers and to the phone numbers that give people access to their long-distance companies.

by CNB