[November 17, 2007] Qwest proceeds with long-distance billing plan Tweet (Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids, IA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Nov. 15--Qwest-Iowa will bill calls from its Cedar Rapids customers to customers of South Slope Cooperative Communications Co. in Tiffin, Oxford and Solon as long distance beginning today. The Iowa Utilities Board told Gov. Chet Culver's office last week it was investigating Qwest's decision to begin charging long-distance rates for calls from its Cedar Rapids customers to South Slope customers in the three Johnson County communities. The memo indicated an extended area service agreement between South Slope and Qwest for its North Liberty exchange might preclude the long-distance charges. Qwest clarified this week that the only type of calls for which billing will change are calls from Cedar Rapids to South Slope customers in Solon, Tiffin and Oxford. It said calls from its Cedar Rapids customers to customers of Iowa Telecom, the incumbent local exchange carrier in the three towns, are already billed as long distance. Qwest spokeswoman Kara Neuverth said the change is being made because Qwest has no extended area service agreement with South Slope between Cedar Rapids and Solon, Tiffin or Oxford. Neuverth said Qwest is acting on the basis of the outcome of a regulatory case involving South Slope and Iowa Telecom. In that case, the Iowa Utilities Board determined that South Slope is a competitive local exchange carrier rather than an incumbent local exchange carrier when serving Solon, Tiffin and Oxford exchanges. The board also determined that South Slope customers in those exchanges should be treated as residing in Solon, Tiffin and Oxford rate centers rather than South Slope's North Liberty rate center, Neuverth said. Since South Slope customers are defined as located in the separate Tiffin, Oxford and Solon rate centers rather than North Liberty, Qwest must treat them differently for rate purposes, the company said. To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazetteonline.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]