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IP: CPT Draft Survey of ISDN Tariffs, Version .91 (fwd)
From: Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>
Date: Fri, 08 Mar 1996 18:55:46 -0500
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INFORMATION POLICY NOTES - ISDN tariffs
March 8, 1996
Selected ISDN Tariffs
Draft, Version .91
March 7, 1996
James Love, Consumer Project on Technology [1]
http://www.essential.org/cpt
love () tap org / 202/387-8030
Executive Summary
This is a list of selected residential ISDN tariffs. It is not
complete, and we will expand and update the list from time to
time. The list compares tariffs among various local exchange
telephone companies, based upon a purchase of 100 hours of 2B + D
service, or a line which is in service full time, such as would
be used for a Web server. The full time connection is referred
to as a "nailed down" line. Future enhancements will include
more states, an executive summary of installation and distance
charges, and a little fine tuning of the results. Comments or
corrections are welcome. Here are the results:
Company/State 100 hours 2B+D Nailed Down
(Dollars) (Dollars)
NATCO
Arkansas 17.90 17.90
Ameritech
Michigan 36.61 33.51
Ohio 26.00 26.00
Wisconsin 36.56 30.90
Illinois low 33.05 28.05
high 39.50 34.50
Indiana 314.83 1,828.59
PacBell
California (current tariff) 63.62 268.32
(Proposed tariff) 173.88 1,106.17
US WEST
Utah 68 184
Oregon 69 1,949.64
Southwestern Bell - SBC
Missouri 104.30 104.30
Kansas 104.30 104.30
Bell South
Alabama 68.60 68.60
Florida 57.15 57.15
Georgia 63.75 63.75
Kentucky 60.05 60.05
Louisiana 71.66 71.66
Mississippi 65.51 65.51
N Carolina 75.10 75.10
S. Carolina 60.40 60.40
Tennessee 29.50 29.50
Bell Atlantic
Delaware 198 1,206.48
District of Columbia
Proposed 198 1,206.48
PSC Staff Recommendation 32 32
Maryland 198 1,206.48
New Jersey 198 1,206.48
Pennsylvania 198 1,206.48
Virginia 198 1,206.48
West Virginia 198 1,206.48
NYNEX
New York 153.58 890.98
Massachusetts
Area Code 617/508 226.39 1,419.41
Area Code 413 159.19 911.65
Northern Arkansas Telephone Company (NATCO)
Voice: 1-800-775-6682
http://southshore.k12.ar.us/natco1.html
Installation fee $25.20
Fixed Monthly fee $17.90
Usage Charges None.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $17.90
Nailed Down Line $17.90
Ameritech
Voice 1-800-419-5400
http://www.ameritech.com
http://www.ameritech.com/products/data/rates.html
Michigan
Installation fee $122
Distance Charges For homes more than 3 miles from the local
telephone exchange office location, there is
a repeater charge of $20.25 per month.
Fixed Monthly fee $33.51.
Usage Charges After the first 50 calls, a charge of 6.2
cents per call.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $36.61
Nailed Down Line $33.51
Ohio
Installation fee $116.50
Distance Charges For homes more than 3 miles from the local
telephone exchange office location, there is
a repeater charge of $26.00 per month.
Fixed Monthly fee $26.00
Usage Charges None.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $26.00
Nailed Down Line $26.00
Wisconsin
Installation fee $113.05
Distance Charges For homes more than 3 miles from the local
telephone exchange office location, there is
a repeater charge of $20.75 per month.
Fixed Monthly fee $30.90
Usage Charges No per minute charges. Usage charges based
upon number of calls:
1-60 6 cents
61- 90 5
151-300 4
301-400 3
401-1200 2
>1200 5
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $36.56
Nailed Down Line $30.90
Illinois
Installation fee $113.05
Distance Charges For homes more than 3 miles from the local
telephone exchange office location, there is
a repeater charge of $22.50 per month.
Fixed Monthly fee $28.05 to $34.50, depending upon area of
state.
Usage Charges Within local area, no per minute charges.
Each call is 5 cents. For distances greater
than 8 miles per minute charges apply.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $33.05 to $39.50
Nailed Down Line $28.05 to $34.50
Indiana
Installation fee $127.00
Distance Charges For homes more than 3 miles from the local
telephone exchange office location, there is
a repeater charge of $22.50 per month.
Fixed Monthly fee $94.83
Usage Charges Per minute charges apply. Nine cents for
first ten minutes and 9 cents for each
additional 5 minutes, per channel.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $94.83 + $220 = 314.83
Nailed Down Line $94.83 + $1,733.76 = $1,828.59
PacBell
1-800-4PB-ISDN
http://www.pacbell.com
http://www.pacbell.com/Products/SDS-ISDN/sds-isdn.htm
California
Installation $34.75 for conversion of POTS line, plus
$125 for a new line. Under current
tariff, PacBell waves installation fees
with 24 month service commitment. Under
proposed tariff, the $125 new line
charge will no longer be waived.
Fixed Monthly fee $24.50 per month.
Usage Charges Under present tariff, PacBell meters
usage from 8 am to 5 pm weekdays, at
3.33 cents for first minute and 1.05
cents for each additional minute. These
charges are per B channel. Usage after
5 pm on weekdays and on weekends is
unmetered.
Under proposed new tariff, PacBell seeks
to double additional per minute charge
in prime time, to 2.1 cents per minute,
and to impose a per minute charge of
2.33 cents for first minute and 1.46
cents for additional minutes from 5 pm
to 11 pm, and 1.33 cents for first
minute and .84 cents per additional
minute for late night and on weekends.
These charges are per B channel. There
will be a 20 hour allowance for off-peak
usage.
Cost to Consumer [2]
PRESENT TARIFF
100 Hours of 2B+D $24.50 + $39.12 = $ 63.62
Nailed Down Line $24.50 + $243.82 = $ 268.32
PROPOSED TARIFF
100 Hours of 2B+D $24.50 + $179.4 - $30.02 = $ 173.88
Nailed Down Line $24.50 + $1,116.71 - $35.04 = $ 1,106.17
US WEST
1-800-872-4658, ext 8903
1-800-PATHWAY
http://www.uswest.com
http://www.w3.uswest.com/isdn/index.html
http://www.w3.uswest.com/isdn/pricing.html
Utah
Installation fee $110
Distance Charges Installation where loop is greater than 18
kilofeet (three miles from central office) is
an additional $100.
Fixed Monthly fee There are three options. The fixed monthly
fee for the fully metered option is $39 per
month. The option that includes 200 hours of
B channel use (100 hours of 2B + D) is $68.
The flat rate option is $184 per month.
Usage Charges The usage charge is three cents per minute
per B channel.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $68
Nailed Down Line $184
Oregon
Installation fee $110
Distance Charges
Fixed Monthly fee $69
Usage Charges The first 200 hours of B channel use (or 100
hours of 2B + D) is covered by the $69 fee.
Thereafter there will be a charge of three
cents per minute per B channel in the local
change area, and 5 cents per minute per B
channel for calls outside the local exchange
boundary.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $69
Nailed Down Line $69 + $ 1,880.64 = $1,949.64
SBC - Southwestern Bell
1-800-792-4736
(for Texas, 713-567-4736)
http://www.sbc.com/
http://www.sbc.com/kc/isdncost.html
Kansas and Missouri
Installation fee $457.40 for Kansas and $452.25 for Missouri.
SBC will waive $400 of the installation fee
with a 24 month committment for service.
Distance Charges
Fixed Monthly fee There are three options. The two metered
options include a $57.30 rate with 10 hours
included, and a $75.30 option with 80 hours
included. The flat rate option is $104.30
per month.
Usage Charges Additonal usage for the 10 hour plan is four
cents per minute. Additional usage for the
80 hour plan is two cents per minute.
According to SBC staff, this rate applies to
2B+D service.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $104.30
Nailed Down Line $104.30
Bellsouth
1-800-858-9413
http://www.bellsouth.com
The Bellsouth Web page has some information on tariffs available,
but it was out of date when I checked on March 8, 1996. All
Bellsouth residential ISDN tariffs are flat rate.
Installation Fixed Monthly Charge
Alabama 190 68.60
Florida 190 57.15
Georgia 197.50 63.75
Kentucky 213 60.05
Louisiana 193 71.66
Mississippi 196 65.51
N Carolina 192.75 75.10
S. Carolina 212.50 60.40
Tennessee 41 29.50
Bell Atlantic
http://www.ba.com
Basic Bell Atlantic residential ISDN Tariff for Delaware,
District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Virginia and West Virginia.
Installation Fee $125
Fixed Monthly fee $19.50 plus local measured service POTS, for
an approximate $30 to $34 per month.
Usage Charges Per minute charges apply. Two cents per B
Channel from 7 am to 7 pm, and one cent per B
channel from 7 pm to 7 am and on weekends.
Notes: The tariff is designed to discourage use,
first by charging by the minute, and then by
basing the charge on the number of B channels
being used. Consumers who can afford this
service will have incentives to use the
service at half its possible speed.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $168 usage plus $30 = $198
Nailed Down Line $1,176.48 usage plus $30 =
$1,206.48
NYNEX
http://www.nynex.com
http://www.nynex.com/iixxxpg1.html
1-800-438-4736
New York
Installation fee $225 for new line. Upgrade of POTS line is
$24.05 + 35 = $ 59.05
Distance Charges The service is only available within 18
kilofeet from a central office. If that
central office isn't equipped for ISDN, you
must pay for "Virtual Service." This will
add $75 for a residential installation, plus
a fixed fee of $10 per month.
Fixed Monthly fee $10.10 for POTS plus $14.00 for 2B + D, for a
total of $24.10.
Usage Charges Both per message and per minute charges
apply. The NYNEX "Circuit Switched Data"
charge is one cent per minute per B channel.
Per call charges also apply. The per call
charge is 10.6 per call, with a discount of
40 percent from 9 pm to 11 pm and a discount
of 65 percent from 11 pm to 8 am on weekdays.
On weekends the per call discount is 65
percent, except for 5 pm to 11 pm on Sunday.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D $24.10 + $9.48 + $120 = $ 153.58
Nailed Down Line $24.10 + $866.88 = $890.98
Massachusetts
Installation fee $67.07
Distance Charges The service is only available within 18
kilofeet from a central office. If that
central office isn't equipped for ISDN, you
must pay for "Virtual Service." This will
add $190 for a residential installation, plus
a fixed fee of $32 per month.
Fixed Monthly fee $14.39 for line charges plus $18 for BRI
ISDN, for a total of $32.39.
Usage Charges Voice calls are the same as the local POTS
rates. Per minute charges apply for data.
For data calls, in the 617 and 508 area
codes, it is a one cent per "message" charge,
which is applied to each B channel. Usage is
also subject to a 1.6 cents per minute per B
channel charge. A higher per minute per B
channel charge of 5.5 cents per applies to
"Zone 2" calls. In the 413 area code, calls
are one cent per "message" plus 1.6 cents
from 8 am to 5 pm week days and .8 cents in
the off peak hours.
Cost to Consumer [2]
100 Hours of 2B+D Area Codes 617/508
$32.39 + $2 + $192 = $226.39
Area Code 413
$32.39 + $2 + $124.80 = $159.19
Nailed Down Line Area Codes 617/508
$32.39 + $1387.01 = $1,419.40
Area Code 413
$32.39 + $879.26 = $ 911.65
--------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Thanks to Janice Shields of the Center for Study of
Responsive Law for research on this topic.
[2] The consumer's cost of 100 hours of 2B + D service is based
upon the following assumptions. The time online is divided
as follows: from 8 am to 5 pm 30 percent, from 5 pm to 7 pm
10 percent, from 7 pm to 11 pm 35 percent and from 11 pm to
7 am and weekends, 25 percent. This works out to 30 percent
peak for the PacBell tariff, or 40 percent peak for the Bell
Atlantic Tariff. Number of calls is 100. In practice, the
number of calls will depend upon the pricing incentives, but
generally this isn't a very large number, companies to the
cost of the per minute charges.
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