Kokua Line

Kokua Line

June Watanabe is on vacation.

By Gregg K. Kakesako

Thursday, August 27, 1998

Phone fees explained;
one charge ends Sept. 1

There are many confusing charges on my telephone bill. Are these legitimate charges? Can you get someone to explain them to me. Where does the money go?

Both local and long-distance phone service charges are listed on everyone's monthly phone bill, says Keith Kamisugi, GTE Hawaiian Tel spokesman. For questions about long-distance service, Kamisugi said you should call the number listed for the long-distance carrier you use.

A breakdown of GTE Hawaiian Tel various phone bill charges follows:

Bullet Interstate subscriber line charge: The subscriber line charge is part of a program for local telephone companies to recover the cost of connecting individual phone lines to the interstate long-distance network. These costs include telephone wires, poles and other facilities that link each telephone subscriber, or customer, to the telephone network. The rate is a flat, recurring monthly charge set by the Federal Communications Commission.

BulletCentral office line: This is the charge for your basic phone service.

BulletPublic Utilities Commission service fee: Required by state law, this fee goes into the state Public Utilities Commission special fund, used by the PUC and the state Division of Consumer Advocacy.

BulletIntrastate surcharge: This charge, approved by the PUC in 1997, allows GTE Hawaiian Tel to recover some of the costs of providing phone service while the commission reviews a request by the company to restructure its rates.

BulletTelecommunications relay service: The PUC authorized this charge allowing hearing- and speech-impaired customers to reach other telephone users over the telephone network.

BulletStatewide 911 emergency surcharge: GTE Hawaiian Tel provides statewide emergency telephone service (911). The PUC approved a charge to recover the cost of providing the service.

BulletRural service program: This charge will end Sept. 1. The PUC in 1995 directed GTE Hawaiian Tel to implement a three-year rural service plan to install facilities in rural areas that would let multiparty customers convert to single-party service. Multiparty customers share a phone line with a group of other customers.

The PUC said costs associated with the implementation of the plan should be paid by all Hawaiian Tel customers in the form of a monthly surcharge for three years.

Kamisugi said Hawaiian Tel finished the plan ahead of schedule and is ending the surcharge.

Tapa

Mahalo

To a wonderful couple in a van who stopped to help me about 10 a.m. Saturday, July 18. I was jogging with my dog in Waikele and fainted. Next thing I remember, I was flat on the sidewalk and pretty hurt. The husband offered to call an ambulance, and they retrieved my dog. They were very kind and considerate when no one else was there. -- Lisa Haines

Tapa

Mahalo

To officer Kevin Matteo, one of Honolulu's finest, for stopping to help me change a blown tire on the H-3 late at night on July 14. He was off-duty, but stopped in the rain to provide much-needed assistance. -- G.T.

Tapa

Auwe

To the driver of a late-model black Thunderbird. You almost hit me on July 20 about noon going Diamond Head, just before the Punchbowl offramp. You proceeded to drive recklessly on Punchbowl, where I saw you weave in and out of traffic, nearly hitting several cars. You are an accident waiting to happen. -- M.L.




Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com




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