CenturyLink to be deregulated

Crook County customers having trouble with their CenturyLink phone service may have the option to take a subsidy that will provide them with internet phone service through HughesNet, according to Commissioner Jeanne Whalen. This will be done through the Public Service Commission (PSC), though CenturyLink will no longer be regulated by that body.

Several people testified at a PSC hearing regarding the deregulation of CenturyLink on behalf of those customers in Crook County who have been experiencing issues with their phone service for many years, said Whalen last week. Among those who testified were Todd Leimser, Theresa Curren and Rocky Courchaine; coverage maps were also submitted by Tim Lyons, Growth & Development, who testified that there are homes within the county that cannot receive cell coverage.

Pam Thompson was unable to testify, said Whalen. In a moment of irony, she moved slightly and lost phone service.

“We testified in front of the Public Service Commission and Crook County did an amazing job, I’m very proud,” said Whalen. But while she’s pleased with the testimony, she said, “It did no good at all.”

The PSC has not officially announced its answer yet, said County Attorney Joe Baron, though they did deliberate after the hearing and determined that CenturyLink would indeed be deregulated. The county is waiting for a written order, he said.

“CenturyLink said they are going to get pushed out because there are so many other companies coming in – your cell phones, your WiFi, your internet,” Whalen said.

Alongside Crook County, said Whalen, the Office of Consumer Affairs, AARP and small phone companies were represented at the hearing.

“Those three all agreed to a settlement and we did not because we in Crook County didn’t get anything from the settlement,” she said. “CenturyLink’s proposal is to have a contract with HughesNet to have internet phones.”

Whalen herself is a HughesNet customer and said the company at present does not offer phone service alone. A customer must purchase internet and add phone to the package, she said.

“CenturyLink has now made a deal where certain customers that they choose will get this satellite dish and modem to have a telephone service. It’s a subsidy for 24 months, I believe, and that was it,” she said.

Whalen had many questions, she told her fellow commissioners, such as which HughesNet company would be providing the phone, would she need a new account or satellite and what would happen if she did not like the service – could she go back?

“Nobody had any answers,” she said.

During the hearing, Whalen said she was asked if she had seen an email containing the proposal for Crook County and asking which customers should qualify for the HughesNet subsidy. Neither Whalen nor Baron received the email.

“I guess it was our one and only chance to say which citizens in Crook County would qualify for this and since we didn’t respond to this one email, we don’t count,” she said.

Baron clarified the current situation for CenturyLink customers in Crook County.

“Anybody that’s within our two phone system here – the Beulah or Aladdin exchanges – will have the same option to opt into the 24-month subsidy if they have some quality issue that cannot be fixed by CenturyLink within 14 days,” he said.

Regarding the deregulation of CenturyLink, he added, “From the county’s point of view, we still have a right to appeal this decision in District Court. Frankly the chances of winning that appeal are not probably that great.”