Verizon Proposes Extended Area Calling Plan For Customers in 38 Additional Illinois Exchanges

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Verizon Communications has asked the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) for approval to offer a money-saving calling plan with extended local calling areas to customers in 38 additional exchanges across southern Illinois. The company filed its request with the commission today.

Under the extended area calling plan, Verizon customers would be able to call additional nearby communities without paying long-distance charges and dial seven or 10 digits instead of the 1 + 10 digits they currently dial. (Note: A list of new local calling areas for customers in these exchanges follows this release.)

"We are continuing to enhance the value of our service," said James R. Hargrave, Verizon assistant vice president - public policy & external affairs for Illinois. "Our new calling plan provides more rate options for our customers and delivers lower-priced calling alternatives."

The new plan would allow residential and business customers to call all communities within the same market service area (MSA) and a 15-mile radius of their own exchange without paying local toll charges. With the proposed calling plan, all such calls would be considered local. If approved by the ICC, the plan will take effect Feb.19.

With the plan, customers would need to dial seven digits to reach other numbers within their area code and MSA. In addition, customers would need to dial 10 digits (area code + telephone number) to reach numbers in other area codes within the new 15-mile local calling radius.

Customers will need to reprogram fax machines, PBXs, key systems, alarm or security systems, medical alert systems, dial-up numbers for Internet access or Custom Calling features to work with the new dialing plan.

Verizon is seeking to expand the calling plan to its customers in the following exchanges: Albers, Albion, Allendale, Bellmont, Birds, Bridgeport, Burnt Prairie, Carmi, Chauncey, Claremont, Clay City, Dundas, Enfield, Fairfield, Grayville, Highland, Hutsonville, Lawrenceville, Maunie, McLeansboro, Mt. Carmel, New Haven, Newton, Noble, Norris City, Okawville, Olney, Omaha, Palestine, Parkersburg, Rose Hill, Sailor Springs, St. Francisville, Sumner, Wayne City, West Salem, Westport and Willow Hill.

If approved by the ICC, the exchanges that were offered Extended Area Service (EAS) in 2000 will automatically have EAS as a standard part of their local calling area. The current monthly service charge and billing will remain the same. Those exchanges are Annapolis, Calhoun, Fayetteville, Flora, Hardinville, Hecker, Mascoutah, Millstadt, New Baden, Robinson, Summerfield, Wendelin and Westview.

The extended calling plan is currently available to Verizon customers in 280 exchanges across the state. The company plans to request permission to make the plan available to additional Verizon customers in the state later this year.

Under the new calling plan, local calls to additional nearby communities would be priced at current, local Usage Sensitive Service rates. Usage Sensitive Service is $17.02 monthly, plus customers pay a call-connection charge of 3 cents per call and a 1.8-cents-per-minute calling charge.

The cost of calls within a customer's home exchange will remain the same; residential customers currently pay 3.4 cents per call with no per-minute calling charges. Business customers currently pay a call-connection charge of 1.88 cents and a 0.93-cents-per-minute calling charge. These charges are discounted 50 percent on weekends, holidays and from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays.

Under the extended calling area plan, residential customers can also select the
11-cents-per-call option. Under this option, they pay the same monthly fee as before, $17.02, plus a flat, 11-cents-per-call charge with no per-minute charge for calls to nearby communities. Calls within the home exchange will remain 3.4 cents each, with no per-minute calling charges. These charges also are discounted 50 percent on weekends, holidays and from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays.

Details of the proposed calling plan will be provided to Verizon customers in the 38 additional Illinois exchanges in their bills soon.

Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) 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 128.5 million access line equivalents and 28.7 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10 company with 256,000 employees and approximately $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to more than 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.

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New Local Calling Areas
Proposed Extended Area Service Calling Plan

The following list identifies communities that would be in the local calling area of each of the affected exchanges under Verizon's extended area calling plan. New local calling areas are in bold type.

Calls from the Albers exchange (618) 248: Addieville, Aviston, Bartelso, Beckemeyer, Breese, Carlyle, Fayetteville, Germantown, Highland, Lebanon, Mascoutah, New Baden, New Minden, Okawville, St. Jacob, St. Libory, Summerfield, Trenton and Venedy.

Calls from the Albion exchange (618) 445: Bellmont, Browns, Burnt Prairie, Crossville, Grayville, Mount Erie, Parkersburg, and West Salem.

Calls from the Allendale exchange (618) 299: Bellmont, Bridgeport, Lawrenceville, Mt. Carmel, St. Francisville and Westport.

Calls from the Annapolis exchange (618) 569: Hutsonville, Oblong, Palestine and Robinson.

Calls from the Bellmont exchange (618) 298: Albion, Allendale, Browns, Grayville, Mt. Carmel and West Salem.

Calls from the Birds exchange (618) 928: Bridgeport, Chauncey, Flat Rock, Hardinville, Lawrenceville, Palestine, Robinson, Sumner and Westport.

Calls from the Bridgeport exchange (618) 945: Allendale, Birds, Chauncey, Claremont, Flat Rock, Hardinville, Lawrenceville, St. Francisville, Sumner and Westport.

Calls from the Burnt Prairie exchange (618) 896: Albion, Blairsville, Burnt Prairie, Carmi, Crossville, Enfield, Fairfield and Grayville.

Calls from the Calhoun exchange (618) 863: Claremont, Dundas, Mount Erie, Noble, Olney, Parkersburg, Sumner and West Salem.

Calls from the Carmi exchange (618) 382, 384: Burnt Prairie, Crossville, Enfield, Grayville, Maunie, New Haven and Norris City.

Calls from the Chauncey exchange (618) 947: Birds, Bridgeport, Claremont, Dundas, Flat Rock, Hardinville, Lawrenceville, Oblong, Olney, Robinson, Sumner and Willow Hill.

Calls from the Claremont exchange (618) 869: Bridgeport, Calhoun, Chauncey, Dundas, Hardinville, Noble, Olney, Parkersburg, Sumner and West Salem.

Calls from the Clay City exchange (618) 676: Bible Grove, Cisne, Flora, Louisville, Mount Erie, Noble, Olney, Sailor Springs and Wendelin.

Calls from the Dundas exchange (618) 754: Calhoun, Chauncey, Claremont, Hardinville, Newton, Noble, Olney, Sumner, Wendelin and Willow Hill.

Calls from the Enfield exchange (618) 963: Belle Prairie, Blairsville, Broughton, Burnt Prairie, Carmi, Crossville, Dale, Enfield, McLeansboro, Norris City and Omaha.

Calls from the Fairfield exchange (618) 842, 847: Belle Prairie, Burnt Prairie, Cisne, Crisp, Geff, Mount Erie and Wayne City.

Calls from the Fayetteville exchange (618) 677: Albers, Belleville, Freeburg, Hecker, Mascoutah, New Athens, New Baden, Okawville, St. Libory, Summerfield and Venedy.

Calls from the Flora exchange (618) 662: Bible Grove, Cisne, Clay City, Louisville, Noble, Orchardville, Sailor Springs and Xenia.

Calls from the Grayville exchange (618) 375: Albion, Bellmont, Browns, Burnt Prairie, Carmi and Crossville.

Calls from the Hardinville exchange (618) 557: Birds, Bridgeport, Chauncey, Claremont, Dundas, Flat Rock, Oblong, Palestine, Robinson, Sumner and Willow Hill.

Calls from the Hecker exchange (618) 473: Belleville, Columbia, Fayetteville, Freeburg, Millstadt, New Athens, Red Bud, Renault, Waterloo and Westview.

Calls from the Highland exchange (618) 651, 654: Albers, Alhambra, Aviston, Breese, Germantown, Grantfork, Hamel, Highland, Lebanon, Marine, New Baden, Pocahontas, St. Jacob, Summerfield, Trenton and Troy.

Calls from the Hutsonville exchange (618) 563: Annapolis, Flat Rock, Oblong, Palestine and Robinson.

Calls from the Lawrenceville exchange (618) 943: Allendale, Birds, Bridgeport, Chauncey, Flat Rock, St. Francisville, Sumner and Westport.

Calls from the Mascoutah exchange (618) 566: Albers, Aviston, Belleville, Fayetteville, Freeburg, Germantown, Lebanon, New Athens, New Baden, O'Fallon, Okawville, St. Libory, Summerfield, Trenton and Venedy.

Calls from the Maunie exchange (618) 968: Carmi, Crossville and New Haven.

Calls from the McLeansboro exchange (618) 643: Belle Prairie, Belle Rive, Blairsville, Broughton, Dahlgren, Dale, Enfield, McLeansboro, Macedonia and Norris City.

Calls from the Millstadt exchange (618) 476: Belleville, Columbia, Dupo, Edgemont, East St. Louis, Freeburg, Hecker, O'Fallon, Waterloo and Westview.

Calls from the Mt. Carmel exchange (618) 262, 263: Allendale, Bellmont, Browns, St. Francisville and West Salem.

Calls from the New Baden exchange (618) 588: Albers, Aviston, Bartelso, Belleville, Breese, Fayetteville, Freeburg, Germantown, Highland, Lebanon, Mascoutah, O'Fallon, Okawville, St. Jacob, St. Libory, Summerfield, Trenton and Venedy.

Calls from the New Haven exchange (618) 265: Carmi, Maunie, Norris City, Omaha and Ridgeway.

Calls from the Newton exchange (618) 265: Dundas, Oblong, Rose Hill, Wendelin and Willow Hill.

Calls from the Noble exchange (618) 723: Calhoun, Claremont, Clay City, Dundas, Flora, Mount Erie, Olney, Parkersburg, Sailor Springs and Wendelin.

Calls from the Norris City exchange (618) 378: Blairsville, Broughton, Carmi, Dale, Enfield, McLeansboro, New Haven and Omaha.

Calls from the Okawville exchange (618) 243: Addieville, Albers, Aviston, Bartelso, Beckemeyer, Breese, Fayetteville, Germantown, Mascoutah, Nashville, New Baden, New Minden, Oakdale, St. Libory, Trenton and Venedy.

Calls from the Olney exchange (618) 392, 393, 395: Calhoun, Chauncey, Claremont, Clay City, Dundas, Noble, Parkersburg, Sumner and Wendelin.

Calls from the Omaha exchange (618) 962: Broughton, Dale, Enfield, New Haven, Norris City and Ridgeway.

Calls from the Palestine exchange (618) 586: Annapolis, Birds, Flat Rock, Hardinville, Hutsonville and Robinson.

Calls from the Parkersburg exchange (618) 442: Albion, Calhoun, Claremont, Mount Erie, Noble, Olney, Sumner and West Salem.

Calls from the Robinson exchange (68) 544, 546: Annapolis, Birds, Chauncey, Flat Rock, Hardinville, Hutsonville, Oblong and Palestine.

Calls from the Rose Hill exchange (618) 793: Newton, Oblong and Willow Hill.

Calls from the Sailor Springs exchange (618) 689: Bible Grove, Clay City, Flora, Louisville, Noble and Wendelin.

Calls from the St. Francisville exchange (618) 948: Allendale, Bridgeport, Lawrenceville, Mount Carmel, Sumner and Westport.

Calls from the Summerfield exchange (618) 934: Albers, Aviston, Belleville, Breese, Collinsville, Fayetteville, Freeburg, Germantown, Highland, Lebanon, Marine, Mascoutah, New Baden, O'Fallon, St. Jacob, Trenton, Troy and Venedy.

Calls from the Sumner exchange (618) 936: Birds, Bridgeport, Calhoun, Chauncey, Claremont, Dundas, Hardinville, Lawrenceville, Olney, Parkersburg and St. Francisville.

Calls from the Wayne City exchange (618) 895: Belle Prairie, Belle Rive, Blairsville, Bluford, Cisne, Crisp, Dahigren, Fairfield, Geff, Harmony, Mt. Vernon and Orchardville.

Calls from the Wendelin exchange (618) 752: Bible Grove, Clay City, Dundas, Louisville, Newton, Noble, Olney and Sailor Springs.

Calls from the West Salem exchange (618) 456: Albion, Bellmont, Browns, Calhoun, Claremont, Mount Carmel, Mount Erie and Parkersburg.

Calls from the Westport exchange (618) 884: Allendale, Birds, Bridgeport, Lawrenceville, St. Francisville and Vincennes, IN.

Calls from the Westview exchange (618) 538: Belleville, Collinsville, Columbia, Dupo, East St. Louis, Edgemont, Freeburg, Granite City, Hecker, Millstadt, O'Fallon and Waterloo.

Calls from the Willow Hill exchange (618) 455: Chauncey, Dundas, Hardinville, Newton, Oblong and Rose Hill.

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