December 6, 2002

The Michigan Public Service Commission today approved Waldron Telephone Company's application, as revised, to expand its local calling area and authorized the company to increase its rates for basic local telephone service and establish a 2,000-minute adjacent exchange calling cap for its customers.  Under the approved plan, Waldron will increase its basic local exchange rates for its residential customers by $3.17 per telephone line per month and its rates for its business customers by $3.80 per line per month.  Waldron will expand the local calling area to encompass the Hudson and Morenci telephone exchanges and provide its customers with a monthly 2,000-minute local calling allowance for calls placed into those exchanges.  The 2,000 minute local calling allowance is a modification to its original application in which the company proposed a 500-minute monthly allowance for calls placed into the Hudson and Morenci exchanges.  The company filed a revised application proposing the 2,000 minute local calling allowance following review of a November 7, 2002 order in which the Commission directed providers to avoid establishing "a cap significantly lower than 2,000 minutes per month" for an expanded local calling plan.  Waldron filed its initial application on September 10, 2002.

The Commission concluded that the proposed expansion of the local calling area, as revised, is in the public interest.  The Commission found, based on evidence and public comment, that local calling is presently limited in the area, that the community of interest surrounding Waldron's licensed service area supports the expansion, that present restrictions compare unfavorably to the calling areas provided by nearby local service providers, and that a substantial segment of its customers supports the expansion or would benefit from it.  The Commission received comments from 223 customers, and all but 2 supported Waldron's expanded local calling request.

The 2000 amendments to the Michigan Telecommunications Act required providers with more than 250,000 access lines to offer local calling to adjacent exchanges, but the Telecommunications Association of Michigan obtained an exemption for providers with less than 250,000 lines.  Subsequently, a few of the exempt providers, including Waldron Telephone Company, have voluntarily implemented expanded local calling areas.  In most cases, these expansions are accompanied by rate increases to cover lost toll revenues and costs to provide the service.

Waldron, headquartered in Waldron, Michigan, provides telephone service to about 645 customers.

The MPSC is an agency within the Department of Consumer and Industry Services.


Case No. U-13533

*All calls into those exchanges beyond the customer's monthly 2,000-minute allowance would be billed at 4¢ per minute.