By Patrick Donges
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-981496.mp3
Pittsfield, MA – Geoffrey Why, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable, was joined by other department officials, phone and cable industry representatives, and members of the public at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield Wednesday for the first of four "listening sessions" scheduled across the commonwealth to discuss the update of the state's consumer protections for phone and cable customers.
Rules for cable providers haven't been updated since they were first established in the mid-1980s and telephone company regulations were last looked at over 30 years ago in 1977; here's Why.
"We're looking to revise our consumer protection rules; now is a really important time because technology has changed significantly. Telephone companies are providing video service, cable companies are providing voice service, so there are lots of conversions going on. And wireless is a big, big part of how folks are communicating today."
While Wednesday's hearing was attended primarily by industry representatives who did not make statements, those who did speak asked the department to consider the differences geography has made to the level of service available in the western part of the state.
State Representative Gail Cariddi of the Berkshires' first district, which also covers communities in Franklin County, offered two personal stories of difficulties with land-line phone service, including one incident regarding an outage at her father's residence.
"In the Berkshires and in the north Berkshires we do have a disproportionate share of elderly persons, much like the Cape Cod area."
"My father, who is 96, has lost service on the weekend, and I called them up on a Sunday. Why aren't they working on Sunday? You would think that you would be able to call the telephone company and say, Look, this 96 year old fellow doesn't have service.' You can't even talk to anybody."
"We've got a lot of people like that and thank God my father had me next door to come over and say, Hey, my phone's not working.'"
According to 2010 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.5 percent of Berkshire County residents are aged 65 years or older, compared to a statewide rate of just fewer than 14 percent of total residents. One of the questions posed Wednesday by telecom officials was whether there should be specific rules for companies notifying seniors of service changes or pending terminations.
R.J. Ritchie, Assistant Attorney General in state Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office of Ratepayer Advocacy, told officials that the new rules will be necessary to protect the state's most vulnerable consumers.
"In Western Massachusetts many consumers depend on land line service as their only means of phone and internet communication. Billing and termination regulations are important for all consumers, and particularly for the elderly, non-English speaking, and other vulnerable populations."
While he didn't comment directly on the billing and termination regulations, Vincent Marinaro, executive director of Pittsfield's Ralph Froio Senior Center, said seniors across the country face many difficulties when it comes to the ever-evolving telecommunications landscape.
"In this day of electronic notification, I think it's also a responsibility of senior centers and other advocacy programs to provide seniors to access to computers."
"There are seniors that are computer literate and can handle the things, but there's things like Medicare and Medicaid that are only be accessed electronically. If they're living alone, they're not going to be able to have access."
Western Massachusetts is currently in the middle of a push to provide broadband internet access to local consumers who have since gone without. Community collaborative WiredWest, made up of municipalities forming essentially their own telecommunications company through a century old state law, is slated to be officially incorporated August 13.
Why said the department will be keeping future development and the current availability of services in mind as they hear from residents around the state on the new regulations.
"We know for a fact that the level of competition in Western Massachusetts is not the same; it's not Boston, it's not Worchester even. I think that's something we need to take consideration as we develop these rules."
The department's next hearing on the regulations is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. tonight at Springfield Technical Community College. The deadline to submit written recommendations to the department is August 22.