Newspaper Page Text
Companies will compete for local
phone service next year
ATLANTA
(AP) Sometime early next year,
Georgians willbe able toselect the
local telephone company of their
choice.
The change came about when
the Public Service Commission
ended 116 years of monopoly by
letting three companies compete
with Bell South for customers.
The PSC voted 5-0 Tuesday to
let MCI Telecommunicationslnc.,
MFS Intelenet and Media One
enter the market.
The companies must now reach
agreement with Atlanta-based
Bell South on fees for connecting
to the phone company’s network
and ways to let customers keep
current phone numbers.
“It may be some time before they
GCA to hold workshops
The Georgia Council for the
Arts (GCA), in a collaboration
with the state’s Grassroots Arts
Program (GAP) Agencies, will
hold workshops for organizations
interested in applying for local
GAP funding. The GAP provides
arts dollars in every county of
the state, and the workshop will
strengthen local groups’ ability
to apply to this program.
The workshops will cover top
ics including Planning and Or
ganizing for Arts Programs,
Shepeard needs bhlood donors
Shepeard Community Blood
Center supplies the majority of
hospitals in the CSRA and de
pends on volunteer donations to
maintain that supply. The follow
ing is a list of upcoming blood
drives:
- Oct. 30, Monday - Lucy Laney
High School, 9:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m.
in the Chorus Room.
-Nov. 1, Wednesday - Trinity on
the Hill United Methodist Church,
5:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the bloodmobile
in the church parking lot on Mon
te Sano.
-Nov. 2, Thursday - Amoco Poly
mers, 7:00-11:00a.m. intheblood
mobile in the Amoco parking lot
on Tobacco Road. Also at H. H.
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actually start serving the custom
er,” said Bob Evans, PSC director
of utilities engineering. “If costs
can’t be negotiated, the PSC will
have to set the resale rates.”
The companies have started
discussions, however, and officials
said they believe operations will
be in place early next year.
Bell South spokeswoman Lynn
Bresssaid her company welcomes
the competition.
“We have said all along that
competition will lead tomore choic
es, better prices and will stimu
late the economy,” Bress said.
Bell South is enthusiastic for
Congress to pass a telecommuni
cations reform bill that would free
the company to provide long-dis
tance service, Bress said. “We
Forming New Alliances and Part
nerships, Fundraising Essen
tials, Promoting Your Project,
and Evaluating Your Project.
Presenters include Atlanta’s
Kathy deNobriga, Colquitt’s Wil
liam Grow, and Nayo Watkins,
of Durham, North Carolina. All
organizations interested in ap
plying for GAP funds should at
tend one of the workshops.
All workshops run from 10:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and are free,
but call-in registrationis encour-
Cutler, 12:30 - 3:00 p.m. in the
bloodmobile in the parking lot on
Tobacco Road.
- Nov. 4, Saturday - Grovetown
Elementary School Safety Day,
11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. in the blood
mobile in the school parkinglot on
Ford Avenue.
-Nov. 5, Sunday - Bartholomew
Episcopal Church,9:ooa.m.-12:30
p.m. in the bloodmobile in the
parking lot on W. Martintown
Road in North Augusta.
The Shepeard Community
Blood Center at 1533 Wrightsboro
Road is open Monday - Friday
from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. For
more information, please call the
blood center at 737-4551.
welcome the opportunity to com
peteaslongas we areonthe same
level playing field.”
Competition from MCI, Sprint
and others in long distance has
cut AT&T s share to 60 percent.
And the regional phone compa
niesareexpected toenterthe long
distance battle soon as well.
For example, Colorado-based U
S West recently won the right to
offer long-distance phone service
to metro Atlanta customers
through the cable television lines
of its subdiary Media One.
Media One, which is spending
$250 million to build and improve
12,000 miles of wire, plans to offer
local phone service to nearly
175,000—primarily residential—
customers within a year.
aged. For further information,
or to register, contact either the
local contact listed or GCA’s Ann
Davis at (404) 651-7927.
-Wed., Nov. 1 - EMC Auditori
um, Elberton Highway 77,
Hartwell. Contact: Lee Carman,
NE Regional Devlopment Cen
ter (706) 369-5650.
-Thurs.,Nov. 2 - Nationsßank,
Main Street, Cartersville. Con
tact: Pamela Holliman, Etowah
Creative Arts (770) 382-8277.
-Wed., Nov. 8 - Laura S. Walk-
Columbia County -
libraries plan activities
The Columbia County li
braries will host a variety of
activities during the month of
November. All activities are
free and open to the public.
“Saturday at the Movies,” a
program for children of all
ages, is held at the Harlem
Branch Library each Satur
day at 10:00 a.m.
Storytime for children of lis
tening age is held Thursdays
atthe Harlem Branch Library
MFS, on the other hand, is focused
on the $3 billion- to $5 billion-a-year
business market in Atlanta, said
Royce Holland, president of the
Omaha, Neb., based company.
Georgians have not had a choice
of companies providing local ser
vice since the founding of Bell
Telephone subsidiary
Cumberland Telephone in 1879.
Even after the breakup of Bell
successor American Telephone &
Telegraphin 1984, the seven Baby
Bells were given a monopoly in
their regions on local service.
Bell South’s competitors should
be able to get about 40 percent of
the market, said Holland.
“I don’t think you will see 10 or
20, but Atlanta may have three to
five local players,” Holland said.
er State Park, Group Shelter #l,
Waycross. Contact: Ann Tweedy,
Okefenokee Heritage Center
(912) 285-4260.
- Thurs., Nov. 9 - Community
Service Building, Hawkinsville.
Contact: Ruby Gatlin,
Hawkinsville-Pulaski Arts Cnecl.
(912) 783-1884.
- Fri., Nov. 10 - Schley County
Library, US 19 and Church
Street, Ellaville. Contact:
Maureen Smith, Southwest GA
Arts Council (912) 924-8519.
at4:oo p.m. The Euchee Creek
Library holds storytime fea
turing stories and activities
for all ages Wednesdays at
10:30 a.m. Registration is not
required for either storytime.
The Gibbs Memorial Library
Book Discussion Group will
meet Monday, November 29,
at 7:00 p.m. todiscuss A Prayer
for Owen Meany by John Irv
ing. New members are always
welcome.
Take the pledge
“I promise to listen
to Foxie 103 at least
three times a day,
every day.”
Because we Jamz!
FOXIE
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AUGUSTA FOCUS October 26, 1995
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H|¢,l‘D ; Augusta, Ga 30901
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Columbia, South Carolina 29218
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