Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 25, 1995 TAG: 9507250078
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ABINGDON LENGTH: Medium
Company officials said Monday that they are positioning themselves to provide that access without long-distance charges, when it becomes feasible.
Bell Atlantic-Virginia may enter the field on a limited basis by the end of 1995 at several trial sites, said High Stallard, its president.
He said the company also plans, by February, to find an Internet service provider for about 1,000 customers in the Blacksburg Electronic Village not connected to the Internet through Virginia Tech.
Regional GTE President Ed Weise said his company will announce its position on providing Internet services in Virginia in the next few months.
Sprint Mid-Atlantic Telecom President William McDonald said his company already has Internet test sites in two other states and plans two more in a few months, one of which will be close enough to Virginia to make Internet services accessible. Sprint serves about 100,000 Southwest Virginia customers.
Congress may take care of outmoded restrictions by passing a telecommunications reform bill this year, said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, who got the telephone executives together for a seminar on ways for 9th Congressional District residents to have low-cost access to the information superhighway.
Stallard said federal law now limits Bell Atlantic to providing long-distance services within specific calling areas. That keeps it from providing Internet access.
"This may be news to you, but it's been that way for over 11 years," he said. "These longer-distance calls have been reserved for the major three long-distance carriers."
Weise said GTE is in a similar position because of a consent decree that was part of a company acquisition. GTE has since divested itself of the acquisition, and hopes to do the same with the consent decree.
Boucher said the proposed reform legislation includes lifting that decree.
Some telecommunications regulations date back to the Depression and efforts have been made to update them regularly since 1970. Boucher said it may actually happen before the end of this year.
"Of course, we did hear that last year, and we heard it the year before," said Sprint's McDonald.
Sprint is smaller than Bell Atlantic and GTE and does not face their restrictions, McDonald said, admitting he would not mind keeping it that way. But he said reform legislation is coming, and hoped it would be a middle ground between the needs of large and small companies.
Interest apparently is high in getting Internet access for Southwest Virginia without costly long-distance charges, judging by the turnout at Monday's seminar.
Boucher said he expected 100 people to come. More than 300 turned out, spilling over from the auditorium at Virginia Highlands Community College into two other rooms.
Washington County Treasurer Fred Parker, incoming president of the Virginia Treasurers' Association, said it is time for telephone companies to provide Southwest Virginia high-speed Internet access.
"We have a problem getting to Richmond. With access to the Internet, we can be there daily," Parker said. "If the phone companies think that we're not interested, take a look at the crowd that's here today."
Boucher said he would have another Internet seminar at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 25 at Virginia Tech. Some of the plans announced Monday by the companies may be in effect by then, he said.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***