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The Business Council supports this legislation which would allow telephone service providers to post their rates and terms on the Internet, rather than requiring them to file tariffs with the Public Service Commission for approval.
Current law requires certain telephone service providers to file printed schedules with the PSC. Only after approval by the PSC, which can take up to 30 days, can a telephone service provider begin to offer new services or change the terms or conditions of existing services.
Filing these complicated schedules is time-consuming and costly and provides no real benefit to consumers. Consumers do not typically get their information regarding service offerings from these printed schedules. Allowing telephone service providers to post service information on their websites instead, will bring services to the marketplace faster, while making the service information available in a more consumer-friendly way. Most of the large telephone service providers already provide their customers with service information through their websites.
Nationally, 40 states have implemented some form of de-tariffing for telecommunications services.
This legislation in no way inhibits the PSC's oversight authority over basic rates or its ability to investigate the rates and terms of service providers under the Public Service Law.
For these reasons we recommend passage of S.2512-B/A.5466-A.