Mea culpa. Below is my penance. Next time I will wait for verification/
discussion before blasting news of such magnitude. Apologies to all.
-- Birdie
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Please send this article to all lists/newsgroups/individuals that you sent
to bogus Modem Tax file:
From: w8sdz@rigel.acs.oakland.edu (Keith Petersen)
Subject: Re: Modem TAX
Date: 6 Jun 91 11:31:09 GMT
I wish you guys would check before posting things like this modem tax
story. The story is a fraud. This issue was settled in 1988.
---Forwarded article:
>From Pg. 6 of the Wall Street Journal for 17 March 1988.
FCC SCRAPS PLAN TO CHARGE FOR COMPUTER
ACCESS TO PHONE SYSTEMS, SOURCES SAY
WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission
has quietly decided to scrap its plan to sharply in-
crease telephone rates for computer users, agency and
congressional sources said.
Last week, the agency informed important lawmakers
that it wouldn't go ahead with its plan to assess so-
called access charges of as much as $5.50 per hour per
user to hook up computer-communication networks to lo-
cal telephone systems. An FCC official described the
decision as a tactical move to placate opposition from
Congress and computer users.
"They got the message loud and clear from Congress
that this plan was a political and policy loser", said
a House staffer who was informed of the FCC decision.
The FCC's about-face is a big victory for informa-
tion service companies, who have contended that steep
access charges would have drivem them out of business
by making their services too expensive. Currently,
computer-communications networks are exempt from those
access charges. Computer users around the country
deluged the FCC with about 10,000 letters opposing ac-
cess fees, the most letters the agency has ever gotten
on a telephone issue.
The decision to drop the proposal was made by FCC
Chairman Dennis Patrick and the common-carrier bureau
of the agency, the sources said. Mr. Patrick, whose
office wouldn't comment on the decision formally needs
the vote of at least one of the agency's other two
members to terminate a proposal. But in practice, he
can act unilaterally because, as chairman, he controls
which proposals can come to a vote.
In any event, FCC Commissioner Patricia Diaz Dennis
said she supported the decision to end the access-
charge plan. "We've got a lot of things on our plate,"
she said. That's one that would overcrowd it."
Several agency officials described the FCC's action
as a way of patching up its tattered relations with
Congress which is still fuming over the FCC's decision
to abolish the fairness doctrine.
Last Thursday, [March 10] Rep. Edward Markey (D.,
Mass.), chairman of the House telecommunications sub-
committee, said he would introduce legislation to
kill the access charge - even though agency officials
said they had assured the congressman's staff that the
FCC itself would kill the plan. A Markey aide said he
was only notified an hour before Rep. Markey was to
give a previously scheduled speech on access charges.
"We'll closely monitor the commission's future actions
to insure that this onerous charge doesn't re-emerge
in a new form", Rep. Markey said in a statement yes-
terday.
Rep. Markey and other lawmakers also still oppose
Mr. Patrick's pet plan to radically alter regulation
of American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
FCC and congressional sources said the agency would
proceed, but slowly, with a separate plan to assess
charges of about $4.50 per hour per user to hook up
private telephone networks to local telephone systems.
The FCC believes that both computer-communications
networks and private telephone networks aren't paying
their fair share of the cost of local telephone ser-
vice. But exempting computer-communications networks
has more appeal politically, because the users are
often consumers with limited ability to pay increased
charges.
(end of article)
---Forwarded message (note the date):
~Date: 03-18-88 (11:23) Number: 2266
To : All Refer#: NONE
~From: Joe Hyland Read : (N/A)
Subj: Letter writing does work! Status: public message
Letter writing DOES work, folks, especially in an election year. Our
thanks go out to Matthew March for uploading this tidbit to us. Anyone
using (or thinking about using) PC-Pursuit should be particularly
interested and happy to read this story:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Article that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel, Thursday, March 17, 1988
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Associated Press
TELEPHONE INCREASE MAY BE SPIKED
--------------------------------
Computer user's protests made an apparent impact on the FCC proposal
that would substantially increase telephone charges for business and
home computer users, sources said Wednesday.
FCC chairman Dennis R. Patrick has concluded that, based on strong
and nearly unanimous opposition to the proposal, the plan should be
dropped, according to sources at the commission and on Capitol Hill.
Commissioner Patricia Diaz Dennis said Patrick had not spoken with
her about a recommendation to drop the plan, but she said she agrees
with the idea.
"There's a lot on our plate right now, and I don't think I'd miss not
seeing that on it," she said.
The third commissioner James Quello could not be reached for comment.
Patrick's office had no comment on the reports.
The commission was expected to vote in two to three months to drop
the proposal.
A decision to scrap the plan would be a victory for the hundreds of
thousands of computer users who dial into data bases such as CompuServe
and QuantumLink for a variety of information services, like news stories
and financial reports, and electronic communication with other users.
Users of those services flooded the FCC and Capitol Hill with
thousands of letters opposing the plan, which would add about $4.50 an
hour to the cost of hooking up to information services.
They said the increased charges, which would double the hourly hookup
price for some information services, would drive many of them off the
computer networks and crush a fledgling industry.
Rep. Edward J. Markey, D., Mass., chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce telecommunications subcommittee, said he would delay indefinit-
ely the introduction of a bill aimed at blocking the FCC from imposing
the access charges.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank-You, cards and politi-grams to the above mentioned people might
help in insuring that the present course is followed from now on. If
you think these folks are doing this out of the goodness of their heart,
think again. These people are motivated by one thing - POPULAR
OPINION! Let your feelings be known. Write your congressman and the
FCC. Keep the pressure on. Our hobby is worth it!
- Joe Hyland
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