Internet users complain
ATMC says plan charge
only to cover high costs
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Atlantic Telephone Membership
Corporation officials have denied
the contention of petitioners who
say a recent move to limit Frequent
Caller privileges was actually a ploy
to secure more Internet access busi
ness for the co-op.
ATMC serves most of Brunswick
County including Boiling Spring
Lakes and St. James Plantation west
of Southport.
Member relations director Percy
Woodard Tuesday said he had not
seen a copy of the petition circulat
ing in the county, but recently the
coop raised the rate for its Frequent
Caller Plan, a calling option that
allows customers to pay a flat rate
for all calls made within a 40-mile
‘When you have
competition right
here in town that
has more customers
than you do, that
argument just does
n’t work.’
Percy Woodard
Member relations
radius, regardless of number or
duration.
He said the Frequent Caller rate
was increased from $26 per month
to about $41 per month.
“Also, with the increase in rate,
there was a limitation placed on the
number of hours” the Frequent
Caller option could be used,
Woodard said.
Petitioners say that limitation on
the number of hours the Frequent
Caller option may be used forces
Internet subscribers to do business
with ATMC.
“Take the Internet, for example,” a
letter from a group calling itself the
Frequent Caller Committee says.
"There are many Internet providers
who offer unlimited hours at a low
cost. However, we are now literally
forced to use your Internet services
due to the fact that most Internet
connections are based out of
Wilmington, North Carolina.
Therefore, our unlimited hours have
become quite limited.”
Boiling Spring Lakes and St.
James Plantation customers also
have used ATMC’s Frequent Caller
plan to access Internet service pro
vided through The State Port Pilot
and Brunswick Computers in
Southport.
Not so, says Woodard. He said a
local commercial Internet access
provider in Shallotte has been the
biggest beneficiary of the switch in
ATMC’s Frequent Caller policies.
“Millennium Computer
Applications has benefited by get
ting more customers,” Woodard
said. “Customers are going to
Millennium Computer because they
have a cheaper rate than we do.”
Woodard said ATMC’s recent rate
adjustment was an attempt to recov
er the high costs associated with
computer users who tie-up lines for
hours on end.
“We had people with computers
who stay on forever,” Woodard said.
“We’ve had to add more circuits.
The contention was we shouldn't
subsidize those customers. I think
that was the intent.”
Petitioners also say it is impossi
ble to monitor the number of hours
they access the Frequent Caller
option in a month.
“If you will not return the
Frequent Caller Plan as it was origi
nally, then we are asking that you at
least provide us with monitors,”
petitioners wrote.
Whatever the difficulties are asso
ciated with ATMC’s Frequent Caller
Plan, the recent rate adjustment and
time limitations have not translated
into additional Internet access cus
tomers for the co-op.
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‘I’m sure people feel that way,”
Woodard said. “But that’s not what
happened and that was not the
intent. When you have competition
right here in town that has more cus
tomers than you do, that argument
just doesn’t work.”
An accompanying, letter from
Joshua Montgomery of the Frequent
Caller Committee says over 200 sig
natures have been obtained on peti
tions calling for a return to old
Frequent Caller policies.
“Members are reported to have
said they are willing to take whatev
er steps necessary, including picket
ing, to restore unlimited calling
within a 30- (to) 40-mile range,”
Montgomery wrote.
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My Message to the Voters |
The time is at hand to choose who will serve you as County Commissioner in «
the coming years. Your decision on November 3rd will shape the future of , ^
Brunswick County. A common sense conservative approach to governing will
S. result in sensible growth, budgetary control and a respect for our environment. ^
■ Beware of anyone making promises that sound too good to be true, they are. I *
will not deceive you to win your vote. What I will promise you is efficiency, J
honesty and leadership. I will listen to you and act in the best interest of all of (
!• Brunswick County. I will plan rather than react, and I will be your voice of *
► reason that seeks compromise, not conflict. : ±
Please vote for leadership, experience and vision^*
Elect
S DAVID ,
ANDIFE
Commissioner For District 2 *
on November 3rd I
r *
* ★ ★ *
** if*
* it * *
Vote Nov. 3rd for RESPONSTB! F.
and RESPONSIVE LEADERSHIP
Con fident Manager
• 13 years management experience
with AT&T and Motorola -
• Bachelors & Masters degrees in Business
• 8 years Business Manager
of small business
Concerned Neighbor
• Education Committee Chair, SBI Chamber
• Adopt A School Chair, Camp Methodist
• Volunteer of the Year, 1996
• Citizen of the Year, 1997
Committed Leader
• Executive Board Member, SBI Chamber of Commerce, Hope Harbor
Home, Partnership For Children, Communities in Schools
• Board Member of the Year, SBI Chamber, 1995
• Fellow of the NC Institute of Political Leadership
• Leadership Brunswick County-Chair
It is my responsibility to serve, to lead, and to love my neighbor as myself.
It is your responsibility to elect a government that is qualified and committed.
Coiui
Paid for by the Campaign lu Elm Debbie Hupp
oner