Consumer Groups Want Savings Shared

Residential customers should receive the same savings as large businesses when the government cuts phone fees for long-distance companies, consumer groups said Thursday.

“We think everyone should get their fair share,” said Gene Kimmelman, co-director of the Consumers Union’s Washington office.

Specifically, the Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America asked federal regulators to require phone companies to pass along to all customers any savings stemming from government-ordered reductions in “access” fees - the payments long-distance companies make to local carriers to connect calls.

Consumers Union estimates that long-distance companies this year have received roughly $1.8 billion in government-ordered access fee reductions. The consumer groups estimate that under their plan, residential customers would get roughly $1 billion in credits for 1998.

Access fees, which are passed on to customers, account for about 40 percent of the average $22.50 monthly residential long-distance bill.