CompuServe Messages

My response is: 1. By adding a $5/hr/user access fee to simply connect to a network, the FCC is for all practical purposes, eliminating the vast majority of private users from these services (such as CIS). $6/hr access, suddenly becomes $11/hr access and $12/hr access suddenly becomes $17/hr access…with the users paying the fees. Considering the baud rates and hourly rates…it would just be way too much for most private users (non-corporate users). 2. The FCC only imposes a $1/month access fee for residential access to the long distance networks, and that fee will rise to about $5/month…why should access to network services cost $5/hr when long distance is only $5/month…a difference of 720 times the rate or a 72,000% increase for essentially the same service (the ability to connect with a distant location). 3. Deregulation and the break-up of AT&T was supposed to make services more competitive, not eliminate them. 4. Corporate services such as VISA use nationwide networks for such things as credit verification/stolen card checks. Since by it's very nature, it must be a 24hr a day operation, imposing a $5/hr connect fee would increase their costs per line by $3,600/month or $43,000/year and that cost would be passed on to the consumer. I suspect they have at least 1,000 lines around the US, thus for that one service alone, would cost the consumer 43 Million dollars a year. 5. The present system works! Why mess with it? It doesn't cost the local BOC's 1 cent extra to provide hook up to a network once it's installed. Charge for the installation…but once installed, leave it alone! 6. Etc.