Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FINCASTLE LENGTH: Medium
The name of David Keith will be a footnote in Botetourt County history.
This morning, shortly after midnight, he was to open the doors of Fincastle to the rest of the Roanoke Valley.
Keith, a technician for the Roanoke & Botetourt Telephone Co., was poised to use his computer to expand the toll-free calling area between Fincastle and Roanoke.
The process was to take less than a half-hour. Most Fincastle residents have wanted it to happen for years.
Allen Layman, the telephone company's president, said boundaries will keep changing, particularly when several companies are vying for the region's telephone business.
Legislators at the state and federal level seem intent on knocking down protective barriers that give cable television and telephone companies exclusive rights to the areas they serve.
If that happens, Layman expects a competitive free-for-all to ensue.
"We'll call it the War of All Against All," he said.
Right now, Fincastle telephone customers are happy to settle for the extension of their toll-free boundaries. Layman said 87 percent of Fincastle's 1,550 customers voted to expand their calling area.
Roanoke & Botetourt Telephone also is planning to introduce toll-free service from the southern part of the county to Salem this year.
Fincastle customers will be asked to pay $8.75 extra each month for access to Roanoke. The Troutville-to-Salem package will cost an additional $3.50 each month.
The change includes a reciprocal agreement with Bell Atlantic giving Roanoke callers toll-free service to Fincastle as well.
Lisa Farmer, who runs the Cabin Creek gift shop in downtown Fincastle, said that's a small price to pay to open up business opportunities in Roanoke.
"People can call out here to see if I have something before driving out here," she said. "Now, no one ever calls. A lot of people act like driving out to Fincastle is like driving to the moon."
"I think it will be good for the people of Fincastle," said John F. Kilby, president of the Bank of Fincastle.
And the bank won't be hurt by it, either.
Bank of Fincastle pays about $800 a month for the eight special lines to accommodate business in Roanoke and southern Botetourt County. With the new toll-free lines, the bank's telephone bill for Roanoke access will be reduced to about $112 a month.
Kilby said the new telephone access may make Fincastle more attractive for real estate development.
Connie Sink, who runs the Connie's Restaurant in downtown Fincastle, has less lofty financial concerns.
She's just glad she won't have to pay the $130 to $150 a month she's been spending to keep in touch with relatives in Roanoke.
"I'm going to call my dad and my mother-in-law in the morning and get them out of bed," she said. "I think it's great."
by CNB