Competition and community relations

Now that both interexchange and local exchange carriers are stepping up their promotional efforts as they prepare to invade each other's businesses, with cable TV and wireless expected to follow, local and national media are beginning to pay attention to the ramifications for average consumers.

I'm sure you're doing your best to make the case for competition. Still, the resulting sound bites carriers proffer on screen often fall short in conveying the benefits to the consumer. The most common question that seems to trip up industry spokespeople is, what does competition this mean to the "old lady in tennis shoes?"

This "old lady" image-stereotypical as it is-was reinforced by the notorious commercial that aired during the congressional debate over the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 that showed a frightened, elderly woman whose home was under siege by men in suits offering to raise her phone rates. The image was as distorted a piece of political advertising as they come, particularly because it used imagery that affirmed nasty but widespread prejudice.

Frankly, the public would be better served by discourse on more complex issues that competitive policy creates, including cross-subsidization and consolidation, as well as how the new rules will be created and enforced. But these require thoughtful research and analysis and don't lend themselves to a knee-jerk visceral sound bite.

What is so surprising is that carriers have such a problem with communicating the benefits of local exchange competition when it's such a no-brainer. Forget the statistics. Forget the theory. Get anecdotal. This is what TV understands. Talk about people you and the public can relate to. As an example, I offer my Aunt Helen. She fits the mold of the person anti-competitive forces claim has the most to lose. She is over 65, retired, lives by herself in a house she owns in Pittsburgh and has a basic black, single-line rotary phone that weighs about five pounds and was no doubt once connected to a crossbar switch. She has no PC, no fax machine, no voice mail, no call waiting, no cable TV and no interest in purchasing a wireless phone. How will local competition affect her?

Competition means she will pay less for service. Don't hedge on this statement. In every industry, whenever new players are introduced, prices tumble. In telecom, long-distance is the best, most recent example. At one time, Aunt Helen couldn't afford to call all her nieces once a week and talk for an hour at a time. Now she can. As far as I know, she never switched from AT&T, formed a calling circle or joined a miles-for-minutes plan. Nonetheless, she pays less now for long-distance than she ever did. On the local side, in the same way, her phone rates will drop no matter what she does or doesn't do.

Competition will provide her with better service. Aunt Helen associates rings with jewelry and might hazard a guess that digital cross-connects have something to do with hand crocheting, yet the existence of both ensure a faster, more reliable connection every time she picks up the phone. Their widespread deployment has been in response to a rising benchmark for quality brought about by competition. The difference is noticeable. Don't you have an older family member who still expresses surprise at completing a call in stormy weather?

Competition will keep other prices down. Just because my Aunt Helen may avoid the competition frenzy doesn't mean the local merchants and agencies she relies on in the neighborhood will do the same. What carriers often forget to mention is that telecom service is overhead. National retail chains already enjoy the benefits of competition because of their size. Local competition extends those benefits to smaller, more localized businesses. This means if Aunt Helen finds it too tiresome to ride the bus downtown, she will still find competitive prices at the local supermarket, drug store or bakery.

Competition will make her life safer and more comfortable. Far from confusing my aunt, telecom competition has led to many things she takes for granted: direct deposit, automatic teller machines, speedy transmission of her heath care records, should the need arrive, and toll-free numbers that she uses to shop and order products by phone. She may never use caller ID, but because the technology is there, police and fire agencies can respond immediately based on information delivered with her incoming call.

The point is that you don't have to be a computer geek or a busy executive to benefit from competition. For many, the benefits are indirect. So don't talk regulation, don't talk legalese. Don't even talk technology. Talk lifestyles. It's what people understand and identify with. You'll win every time.