Telecom Press Releases
Chart: AT&T Calls in its Chips for Chong
A table of individuals and organizations who wrote letters supporting the nomination of Rachelle Chong to the CPUC and donations they have received from AT&T according to public record
TURN Study Confirms Suppressed Findings:
Phone Deregulation is a Disaster
March 25th, 2009
March 25th, 2009
A groundbreaking study released today by The Utility Reform Network, TURN, proves that telephone service deregulation in California is a disaster, and phone company competition a myth.
CONSUMER ACTIVISM PUTS AT&T'S UNFAIR SERVICE AGREEMENT ON HOLD
October 20th, 2008
October 20th, 2008
This victory is the result of consumers standing up, speaking out and fighting back, says TURN's executive director.
Consumers Disagree With New AT&T Service Agreement
September 18th, 2008
September 18th, 2008
Consumer advocates TURN and DRA today filed a joint protest of AT&T's one-sided "Service Agreement" at the California Public Utilities Commission. The agreement, mailed to millions of AT&T customers throughout California, has caused widespread concern and anger. It eliminates customer rights to notice and legal remedies, and allows AT&T to impose any and all terms it chooses.
CPUC Guts Telco Consumer Protections
September 18th, 2008
September 18th, 2008
Affordable, basic phone service is something Californians have taken for granted for long time. That is likely to change.
AT&T TO CPUC: WE DON'T CARE, WE DON'T HAVE TO
June 3rd, 2008
June 3rd, 2008
Over a month after being ordered to restore legally approved rates for measured service, AT&T has basically thumbed its nose at the CPUC and refused to do so. AT&T raised rates for measured service on April 1, with no more legal process than a CPUC "advice letter" announcing the higher rates.
For Most California Consumers, Landlines Trump Cell Phones
May 14th, 2008
May 14th, 2008
A new survey of California consumers reveals that landlines are still the primary phones for the majority in the state, and that consumers continue to rely on basic local service for most of their essential calls.
CPUC REINS IN AT&T, BUT NOT FAR ENOUGH
April 24th, 2008
April 24th, 2008
New CPUC decision doesn't go far enough to protect consumers from AT&T's deceptive marketing practices, says TURN.
April Fools: AT&T's "Competitive Rates" Are A Joke
The California Commission that deregulated phone rates is looking foolish today in the face of yet another rate hike from AT&T.
Higher AT&T Bills Begin Today
July 9th, 2007
July 9th, 2007
AT&T bills are going up again today, and consumers are crying foul. AT&T is tacking an additional $1.01 onto Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and other custom features that it already raised prices for just months ago. Verizon has also hit customers with higher rates since last year's decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) permitting phone companies to raise prices at will, regardless of costs.
California’s Privileged Utilities Commission
Commissioner Chong had a year-long track record when her confirmation hearing was held, and it was a disastrous record from TURN’s perspective.
AT&T Video Plans Rubber Stamped by CPUC
March 1st, 2007
March 1st, 2007
AT&T today was richly rewarded for the thousands of dollars it has poured into the Governor's campaign coffers with virtually unfettered access to California's lucrative cable market.
When Ideology Rules, Consumers Pay: The Schwarzenegger Public Utilities Commission Decision to Deregulate Phone Service
by Bill Nusbaum, TURN Senior Telecommunications Attorney
by Bill Nusbaum, TURN Senior Telecommunications Attorney
The recent decision by the Schwarzenegger PUC to deregulate phone service is the latest and most dramatic example of the Commission's ideological shift away from consumer protection toward a radically laissez-faire approach.
CONSUMER SAFEGUARDS MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEAR - Commissioner Chong Prime Suspect
December 28th, 2006
December 28th, 2006
A set of vital safeguards protecting consumers from marketing abuses by AT&T recently disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The safeguards were created by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in response to widespread customer deception and abuse by AT&T. Their disappearance was the result of last minute changes to a CPUC decision penned by Commissioner Rachelle Chong, changes other Commissioners say occurred outside of the normal legal process.
SCHWARZENEGGER'S CPUC: Bought and Paid for by AT&T
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
November 6th, 2006
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
November 6th, 2006
San Francisco -- TURN today said Governor Schwarzenegger's California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) appointees have presided over the most brutal attacks on consumer protections in the organization's 30-year history, and accused the Governor of repeatedly bowing to the wishes of his biggest political donors with devastating results for consumers. TURN said the traditionally independent agency has become increasingly partisan under Schwarzenegger, ignoring its mandate to protect utility customers.
CPUC Bows to Industry Wishes, Leaving Consumers Out in the Cold
For Immediate Release From The Utility Reform Network
For Immediate Release From The Utility Reform Network
Thursday, August 24, San Francisco -- Today's CPUC decision giving Verizon, AT&T and other large phone companies carte blanche to raise rates is bad news for consumers. TURN, California's leading utility consumer representative, warned today that rate hikes will surely follow the decision, and that business and residential consumers will have little recourse when that happens.
Phone Deregulation: Christmas Coming Early To AT&T and Verizon
For Immediate Release From The Utility Reform Network
For Immediate Release From The Utility Reform Network
Wednesday Aug. 23, San Francisco -- With the California Public Utilities Commission poised to deregulate phone service across the board, consumer advocates are warning that rapid jumps in phone rates are ahead. The CPUC is about to unveil a "Uniform Regulatory Framework" (URF), scheduled for an August 24 vote, that is a virtual wish list for mega-monopolies AT&T and Verizon, giving them the ability to raise rates at will.
Small Phone Consumers in California Will Pay for Video Dreams of Telephone Companies
by By Lenny Goldberg, Legislative Representative, The Utility Reform Network, First Published in CaliforniaProgressReport.com
by By Lenny Goldberg, Legislative Representative, The Utility Reform Network, First Published in CaliforniaProgressReport.com
July 6, 2006 -- Is it possible that the legislature can be unanimous, bi-partisan and absolutely wrong? For starters, check out electricity de-regulation in 1996: it passed the legislature with unanimous votes, and after a few years turned into the largest human-made (as opposed to natural) disaster that the state has ever seen.
The current unanimous support for Speaker Nunez’ video franchising legislation (AB 2987) won’t cause the same disaster. After all, electricity is a very touchy product, used in virtually everything, required to be in balance at all times, and with no substitutes. Cable TV is just a means of entertainment, and allowing telephone companies into the video market while removing local regulation over the cable industry surely will not be society-disrupting.
Cell Phone Industry Growth Fuels Customer Complaints
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
January 6th, 2006
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
January 6th, 2006
Exactly one year after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) suspended the Telecommunications Consumer Bill of Rights, consumers frustrated by inadequate service and inaccurate bills returned to the Commission with evidence that the same complaints that fueled initial passage of the measure continue to grow at an alarming rate.
Consumer Coalition Blasts Kennedy Telco Proposal
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
December 31st, 2005
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
December 31st, 2005
A broad coalition of consumer groups today demanded rejection of a proposal that would drastically cut back on telephone consumer protections previously approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.
CONSUMERS PROTEST PLAN TO SUPER-SIZE SBC
The Utility Reform Network
June 23rd, 2005
The Utility Reform Network
June 23rd, 2005
Consumer advocates today joined other opponents of the proposed SBC/AT&T merger in urging the California Public Utilities Commission to reject the plan. TURN, California's largest statewide utility consumer advocacy organization, said a super-sized SBC could mean super-sized phone bills for the consumers who can least afford it.
CPUC KILLS PHONE COMPETITION, PAVES WAY FOR HIGHER BILLS
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
September 23rd, 2004
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
September 23rd, 2004
San Francisco--A multi-million dollar media and lobbying campaign by SBC paid off big for the phone giant today when the California Public Utilities Commission acceded to its demand to raise wholesale phone rates. SBC has been pushing for increases in the rates competitors pay for the use of the phone lines or UNEs (Unbundled Network Elements), increases that will result in windfall profits for the Texas-based company. Not only is today's decision likely to drive many of their competitors out of business, but it could also pave the way for increases in the rates California consumers will pay for local phone service.
Cell Phone Protections or Shackles?
by Christine Mailloux, TURN Staff Attorney, SF Chronicle Open Forum OP-ED
November 13th, 2003
by Christine Mailloux, TURN Staff Attorney, SF Chronicle Open Forum OP-ED
November 13th, 2003
CPUC Sentences Consumers to More Frustration
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
October 30th, 2003
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
October 30th, 2003
Decision ignores problems with SBC and Verizon phone service quality
