Consumer advocates stand up to deregulation of Minnesota phone services

Consumer advocates are speaking out about an effort by telephone companies to deregulate local phone service in Minnesota, saying it would harm seniors and rural residents that still rely on land lines.
Telephone companies such as CenturyLink are behind efforts in the Legislature and the state Public Utilities Commission to lift regulations on phone service, such as quality of service standards that require them to fix most outages within 24 hours, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said.
At a news conference Thursday in St. Paul, Swanson said there is a real threat phone companies would raise prices and even cut off land lines if they are not stopped.
"We're very concerned they will just drop people who are too expensive to service," Swanson told reporters.
A call to CenturyLink was not immediately returned Thursday.
More than a dozen AARP members and former state officials were on hand to lend support. They said spotty cellphone reception in rural areas could interfere with 911 calls.
Some said they use land lines in ways that may not be obvious to everyone, such as transmitting live data from their pacemakers to their doctors. That can't be done over a cellphone, Swanson said.
Linda Slattengren, past president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, said she sees the move as an attack on seniors.
"It makes me angry," Slattengren said.
Former Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch called the bills moving through the Legislature "metrocentric."
According to Swanson's office, HF1066 and SF 736, would remove price and service quality regulations and lead to degraded service. The bills have bipartisan support.