Loyd I want to thank you and others who have kept me abreast of this
situation -- every year this has come up since Arpanet and BBSing first
started and it still comes up. Although they consider it a "hoax" similar
to the urban legends, it is always a possibility that it COULD BECOME
REALITY. So I keep listening and writing to congresspersons, etc.
Back in March I thought I had forwarded this following to everyone
connected with Indiana USGenWeb Project and my friends (you included, Loyd,
-- although Gary didn't get it I don't believe). Perhaps I thought I did
or something happened to the transmission or receipt of same. Because of
this I am forwarding to you again as it has a url you can go to from FCC
info on this subject.
Judy M.
(next item is what I had forwarded back in March):
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 10:02:35 -0700
From: William Buchanan <bucksr(a)earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: Fwd: please take action URGENT
Congresswoman Heather Wilson
226 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Bill:
Thank you for contacting me to express your concern about
reports
that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is planning to impose
per-minute usage charges on consumer access to Internet Service
Providers.
I appreciate hearing from you.
In short, the rumor is incorrect. At the bottom of this letter
I have included the link to a press release from the FCC that should
answer your questions. As the release says, "the decision preserves the rule
that exempts the Internet and other information services from interstate
access charges. This means that those consumers who continue to access the
Internet by dialing a seven-digit number will not incur long distance charges
when they do so. " Please be assured that I will continue to monitor this
situation in case the FCC changes its mind.
Thank you again for contacting me. Please feel free to do so
again
in the future, should the need arise.
Sincerely,
Heather Wilson
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrcc9014.html
<
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrcc9014.htm...
Good afternoon everyone,
pursuant to the message that I recently sent to you all, concerning
congressional action on a bill to enact by the minute charges for the use of
the internet, I received a reply from Congressman Ken Lucas. I am attaching
a JPG file of the letter and a scanned and OCR copy for your observation.
The first sentence in the next to last paragraph is what concerns me. I
urge you all to contact your congressman in support of ISPs. H.R. 1291.
cousin Loyd
KEN LUCAS
OFFICES:
1237 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-3465
277 Buttermilk Pike
Fort Mitchell, KY 41017
(606) 426-0080
1405 Greenup Avenue, Suite 236
Ashland, KY 41011
(606) 324-9898
Web Site:
http://www.house.gov/kenlucas/
Email: write.kenlucas(a)mail.house.gov
May 10, 1999
Mr. Loyd T. Fleming
7746 Ravenswood Dr.
Florence, KY 41042
Dear Loyd:
Thank you for sharing your concerns about potential consumer charges for
access to the Internet. Like you, I use the Internet to find information and
communicate with friends. I believe the Internet would not have grown as
rapidly if users had been required to pay per-minute telephone rates for
Internet access.
In recent weeks, there has been speculation that the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) was planning to impose per-minute charges on calls to
Internet Service Providers (ISPs). However, the FCC has indicated that it
has "no intention of assessing per-minute charges on Internet traffic or
changing the way in which consumers obtain and pay for access to the
Internet."
Much of this speculation appears to have arisen because of a separate
discussion about "reciprocal compensation." This is an issue involving
carrier-to-carrier payments, or compensation that is paid between telephone
companies for the use of the local telephone network. These transactions are
not normally visible to consumers.
While the FCC has no current plans to impose charges for Internet access,
the recent ruling potentially leaves the door open for future charges. To
prevent this, I have cosponsored a bill to prohibit the FCC from assessing
taxes or fees on local calls to ISPs. H.R. 1291 ensures that consumers will
continue to access to the Internet free of unwarranted government
intervention.
I appreciate knowing that you are also committed to making certain the
Internet remains accessible and affordable and hope you will continue to
stay in touch.
Sincerely, Ken Lucas
Member of Congress
KL:ts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yours in friendship, kinship and the search for family history,
Loyd T. Fleming CPO USN Ret.
7746 Ravenswood Dr., Florence, KY 41042-2526 Ph. (606) 371-9583)
E-MAIL <chief(a)intcom.net>
ged-to-html at:
<
http://www.cornell-Iowa.edu/personal_web/bcantrall/personal/cantrall/html-f
leming/PERSONS.html>
Note: include the two dashes,one underscore and make the word "PERSONS"
in uppercase.
This file is posted compliments of Bruce Cantrall
<
http://www.cornell-iowa.edu/personal_web/bcantrall/>
Attachment Converted: "C:\ERINET\EUDORA\INCOMING\KenLucas.jpg"