Interstate long distance telephone rate changes which went into effect throughout the United States Tuesday will result in some increases and some decreases in the Lewiston area, James R. Olson said yesterday. Olson is Lewiston area manager for Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co.
Nationally, the rate changes granted by the Federal Communications Commission result in about a 3 per cent average increase.
Olson said customers “may avoid the increase by direct dialing their calls during the evening or night rate periods. In some instances these rates are even lower under the new interim filing.”
The daytime period is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the evening period from 5 to 11 p.m. and the night period from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. A call placed from Lewiston to New York before 8 a.m., for example, would take the night rate.
Calls between points within any state are not affected by the increases.
Rates are unchanged in the daytime for calls of more than 675 miles, in the evening for more than 124 miles and at night for more than 244 miles.
As examples, the rate for station-to-station, customer-dialed calls in the daytime from Lewiston to Spokane now is 65 cents for the first three minutes, compared with 60 cents under the old rate; Lewiston to Pomeroy, 40 cents instead of 35 cents; Lewiston to Portland, 90 cents instead of 80 cents.
In the evening, the Lewiston-Spokane station rate of 45 cents and the Lewiston-Portland rate of 55 cents for the first three minutes remain unchanged but the rate decreases 3 cents to 32 cents for Lewiston to Pomeroy.
Pomeroy Rate Decreases
At night, the Lewiston-Spokane, Lewiston-Portland rates of 15 cents and 20 cents remain unchanged but the rate to Pomeroy decreases 3 cents to 12 cents.
Greater increases come in station-to-station calls handled by an operator and in person-to-person calls.
As examples of these changes, the new daytime rate from Lewiston to Spokane is 75 cents compared with the old rate of 60 cents; Lewiston to Portland, $1.15 compared with $1, and Lewiston-Pomeroy, 50 cents instead of the former 35 cents.
For evenings, nights and weekends, the operator-handled station rate between Lewiston and Spokane is 75 cents compared with the former 45 cents, Lewiston to Portland $1 compared with 70 cents and Lewiston to Pomeroy, 50 cents instead of 35 cents.
Examples of increases in person-to-person rates for the initial three minutes are Lewiston to Spokane $1.15 compared with 95 cents, Lewiston to Portland, $1.75 versus the former $1.50 and Lewiston to Pomeroy 85 cents compared with the former 55 cents.
For each additional minute, rates increase from 1 to 4 cents.
In the customer-dialed station calls, rates for each additional minute in the daytime increase from 1 to 3 cents but in evening and night periods are reduced from 1 to 4 cents.
The interim rate will be in effect while the FCC studies the request of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. to make these and other rate changes permanent.
This story was published in the Jan. 28, 1971, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.
