ME. REGULATORS TO CONSIDER SUBSIDIZED 慞UBLIC INTEREST?PAYPHONES

摘要

The Me. PUC plans a Feb. 9 hearing on a proposal to set up a subsidized public interest payphone service offering free intrastate phone calls. The Office of Public Advocate urged the program, calling public interest payphones essential in emergencies, low-income areas and rural areas without good wireless service. The proposal would allow local officials and the public to petition for coinless public-interest phones at post office lobbies, transportation centers, highway rest areas, municipal buildings, health facilities and the like. The program would be funded by a $50,000 subsidy from the state universal service fund that was authorized in a 2005 state law, but the state's 16 phone firms oppose it, saying the phones will get little use and maintenance costs likely will exceed the subsidy.