COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 1, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Consumers nationwide are largely unaware of their ability to choose local telephone providers, according to an NRRI survey on utility and telecommunications service. Local markets were opened to competition seven years ago, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported in June 2002 that 93 percent of U.S. households lived in a zip code served by at least one competitor. Yet only 36 percent of the respondents to the NRRI Consumer Utility Benchmark Survey said they were able to choose their local telephone company.
Response Early Approval Rest of
States United
States
Yes 49.6% 36.0%
No 31.6% 44.7%
Don't know, uncertain 18.8% 19.3%
Source: NRRI/BIG research Consumer Utility Benchmark Survey
For further analysis, the responses to the survey were divided into two groups -- states in which the FCC granted a Bell operating company the ability to go into in-state long distance at least one year prior to the survey and all other states. The "early approval" states, granted "interLATA" relief by the FCC under Section 271 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, are New York, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Missouri. The Bell companies had to demonstrate the in-state local markets were irreversibly open to competition as a condition of the approval under Section 271, so competition may be somewhat more firmly established than in other states overall. Close to half the respondents to the CUBS survey from the "early approval" states said they can choose their telephone company. Nonetheless, the result that over half of consumers in states that received early approval under Section 271 said they could not choose the local service provider or didn't know whether they could is puzzling.
"Consumers cannot reap the benefits of a competitive environment if they are not aware of their ability to choose telecommunications providers," said Chairman Paul Vasington of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy. "The results of the survey suggest there is considerable room for more consumer education on their ability to choose a telephone company. It also suggests companies competing with the incumbents for local customers need to ramp up their marketing efforts."
A total of 18,793 Internet users offered opinions on their utility service quality in a survey conducted by the National Regulatory Research Institute and BIGresearch between Jan. 9, 2003, and Feb. 3, 2003. The purpose of the survey was to provide state public utility commissions, utilities, telecommunications industries and other stakeholders with insights into consumer perceptions of utility service, as well as the impact of competition on consumer perceptions of utility service and prices.
For other results, go to the NRRI home page at www.nrri.ohio-state.edu.
The NRRI was established by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in 1976 at the Ohio State University. The NRRI provides client-driven research and services to inform and advance regulatory policy. NRRI programs of regulatory research and service include utility infrastructure; utility markets; consumer affairs and education; and commission organization, process and development. http://www.nrri.ohio-state.edu.
BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch's syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month providing insights for identifying opportunities in today's competitive and changing marketplace. http://www.bigresearch.com/.