Consumers Face Barrage Of Calls Deregulation Will Make Telephones Ring Off Hook

Tired of telephone companies calling at dinner time to sweet-talk you into switching long-distance carriers?

It’s about to get worse.

The new federal telecommunications law means those companies, and a host of other phone and cable operators, can now go after your local phone service, too.

Several companies are poised to enter the local telephone market by next year, company officials told a hearing Tuesday before the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

Meanwhile, the state’s major local phone service providers, GTE and US West Communications, plan to get into the long-distance market about the same time.

The coming free-for-all could mean a host of new options for consumers, and a barrage of advertising by companies trying to woo them away from their current service providers.

“You’re going to be able to see a wide array of services and you still won’t be able read your bill,” joked Marilyn Meehan, a spokeswoman for the commission.

Telecommunications companies say the deregulated world will make services more convenient.

“One bill, one package of services - these are the kinds of benefits the consumer is going to see,” said US West spokesman Harry Grandstrom.

There will probably be more annoying advertising and competition for consumers, but that competition should also drive down prices, Grandstrom said.

“What is going to be attractive to the customer is the quality of the service you provide and the cost of the service,” he said. “They’re going to have to do their shopping.”

One example of the kind of one-stop shopping that will soon be available is a joint venture by TCI Communications and Sprint. The companies plan to offer local phone service, long-distance and cable TV, all combined on a single monthly bill.

The flurry of new competition is a result of federal legislation signed by President Clinton two weeks ago, revamping the 1934 Communications Act. It lets long-distance phone companies, cable companies and local phone companies into each others’ businesses. It also deregulates cable rates and allows media companies to expand their holdings more easily.

Dave Reynolds, owner of a small long-distance company, warned the commission that the new regulatory environment could put companies like his at a disadvantage.

“It’ll be like Pacman, the big companies eating up the little companies,” said Reynolds, who owns Digitel, a Seattle company with about 500 customers.