RICHMOND, Va. -- Some 100,000 telephone customers in southeast Virginia may save on their phone bills next year when Verizon Communications
expands their local calling areas.
The expanded local calling will cause rates for basic local service to rise for some customers, but many will still realize an overall savings on the bill. Verizon will
send notification letters those affected next week.
"We promised that the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE would bring real and lasting benefits to Virginians," said Robert Woltz, president of Verizon
Virginia. "Our customers in communities all across the state are now beginning to enjoy those benefits."
Bell Atlantic and GTE, which merged last summer to become Verizon, agreed to expand local calling areas between contiguous exchanges after the completion
of the merger.
That practice, which Bell Atlantic launched in 1994, eventually will benefit over a million Verizon customers statewide.
The expansion of local calling in southeast Virginia, scheduled for next June, will affect customers in the following exchanges who currently pay per-minute
charges for calls along 156 routes. They include:
Boykins -- Local calling area to be expanded to include Courtland and Franklin exchanges.
Chuckatuck -- Expanded to include Franklin, Great Bridge, Hampton, Hickory, Newport News, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Peninsula, Poquoson,
Portsmouth, Princess Anne, Smithfield, Whaleyville and Windsor.
Claremont -- Expanded to include Dendron, Surry, Toano and Williamsburg.
Courtland -- Expanded to include Boykins, Holland, Ivor and Wakefield.
Crittenden -- Expanded to include Franklin, Great Bridge, Hampton, Hickory, Newport News, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Peninsula, Poquoson,
Portsmouth, Princess Anne, Suffolk, Whaleyville and Windsor.
Dendron -- Expanded to include Claremont, Smithfield and Wakefield.
Franklin -- Expanded to include Boykins, Chuckatuck, Crittenden, Great Bridge, Hickory, Holland, Ivor, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Portsmouth,
Princess Anne, Smithfield, Suffolk, Wakefield, Whaleyville and Windsor.
Great Bridge -- Expanded to include Cape Charles, Chuckatuck, Crittenden, Franklin, Hampton, Holland, Newport News, Peninsula, Poquoson,
Smithfield, Suffolk, Whaleyville and Windsor.
Hickory -- Expanded to include Cape Charles, Chuckatuck, Crittenden, Franklin, Hampton, Holland, Newport News, Peninsula, Poquoson,
Smithfield, Suffolk, Whaleyville and Windsor.
Holland -- Expanded to include Courtland, Franklin, Great Bridge, Hickory, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Princess Anne and Windsor.
Ivor -- Expanded to include Courtland, Franklin, Smithfield, Wakefield and Windsor.
Princess Anne -- Expanded to include Cape Charles, Chuckatuck, Crittenden, Franklin, Hampton, Holland, Newport News, Peninsula, Poquoson,
Smithfield, Suffolk, Whaleyville and Windsor.
Smithfield -- Expanded to include Chuckatuck, Dendron, Franklin, Great Bridge, Hampton, Hickory, Ivor, Newport News, Norfolk/Virginia Beach,
Peninsula, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Princess Anne, Suffolk, Surry, Toano, Wakefield, Whaleyville, Williamsburg and Windsor.
Surry -- Expanded to include Claremont, Hampton, Newport News, Peninsula, Poquoson, Smithfield, Toano and Williamsburg.
Wakefield -- Expanded to include Courtland, Dendron, Franklin, Ivor and Smithfield.
Windsor -- Expanded to include Chuckatuck, Crittenden, Franklin, Great Bridge, Hampton, Hickory, Holland, Ivor, Newport News, Norfolk/Virginia
Beach, Peninsula, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Princess Anne, Smithfield, Suffolk and Whaleyville.
For some customers, the expanded local calling may result in an increase in their monthly basic service rate. based on how many customers will be able to be
called locally after the expansion. As local calling areas widen, monthly rates often rise as the affected exchange moves into a higher rate group. Monthly rates
in larger local calling areas are usually higher than in smaller calling areas, because more people can be reached with a local call. Verizon is providing detailed
information about any increase in rates to those customers affected.
"Most of our customers prefer to pay a higher flat monthly rate for local calls, instead of incurring toll charges on every call," Woltz said.
"However, whenever expanded calling would increase the monthly charge, we give the citizens of the community the opportunity to express their
opinions."
Customers who want to comment on the local calling area expansion should contact the Clerk of the Commission, State Corporation Commission, P.O. Box
2118, Richmond, Va. 23218-2118.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, is one of the world's leading providers of communications services.
Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with more than 101 million access line equivalents and
more than 26 million wireless customers. A Fortune 10 company with more than 260,000 employees and approximately $60 billion in 1999 revenues, Verizon's
global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit visit www.verizon.com.
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