Missouri Senators and Representatives hold special committee hearing
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Missouri Senators and Representatives hold special committee hearing

Date: November 13, 2008
By: Abby Grimmett
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: Missouri legislators held a special committee hearing on alternative phone lines and who is going to pay for it.

Abigail Grimmett (GRIMM-it) has more from the State Capitol.

RunTime:0:00
OutCue: SOC Kansas state executive Doug Galloway provided testimony about Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, a general term for telecommunication over the Internet or other network connections. Galloway said Missouri is not the first state to consider legislation regarding user access rates.
Actuality:  EMBARQ2.WAV
Run Time: 00:15
Description: States with high local rates dominated by urban areas already have low access rates and inter-carrier compensation reform is much easier. States like Missouri, with low local rates and substantial rural areas, face more complex reform efforts.  
 
Missouri has the second lowest rural residential local telphone rates nationwide at less than 14 dollars.
 
Reporting from the State Capitol, I'm Abigail Grimmett.

Intro: Telecommunication company representatives gave testimony before a special joint committee hearing.

Abigail Grimmett (GRIMM-it) has more from the State Capitol.

RunTime:0:00
OutCue: SOC Potential alternative communication service legislation was the main issue during the hearing Thursday. Missouri Telecommunications Industry Association President Rick Telthorst said in order to move forward in the next session, the legislature needs to reform access charges.
Actuality:  RICKT2.WAV
Run Time: 00:11
Description: This issue is all about revenues, its all about costs, and its all about having the resources available, regardless of what carrier you are, to serve your customer base.

Telthorst advised the committee to adopt one company's proposal for establishing local rate benchmarks and creating interstate access revenue. Reporting from the State Capitol, I'm Abigail Grimmett.
Intro: A group of telecommunication companies are proposing deregulating access rates that affect how much you spend.

Abigail Grimmett (GRIMM-it) has more from the State Capitol.

RunTime:
OutCue: SOC AT&T, Century Tel and Embarq, proposed reformation of VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol. Doug Halloway, a state executive for Embarq, said compensatory relief efforts need to be made between the individual carriers rather than through the government.
Actuality:  EMBARQ3.WAV
Run Time: 00:14
Description: These same companies in Missouri continue to agree on principles, and we've approach what has been statutorily classified as small telephone companies in Missouri. Those small companies have agreed to those principles as well.

The principles Embarq outlined included setting local rate benchmarks and creating interstate access rates. Reporting from the State Capitol, I'm Abigail Grimmett.