PHONE DEREGULATION IS HERE 

Long, long ago, way back in June, 1987 I wrote a column about the Cam-Net autodialer. At that time I had been using it for several months and found it remarkable. It has allowed me to phone anywhere in the world, excluding Canada and Washington State, at rates 20 to 79 percent lower than charged by the former local monopoly holder of all telephone rights - B.C. Tel. My savings during the past four years have been substantial to say the least.

Naturally B.C. Tel was not amused by this upstart that dared challenge their monopoly. Through various pressures B.C. Tel tried to make this nuisance go away. They appealed to the C.R.T.C., courts, etc. All backed away as Cam-Net's operation was not illegal.

Canadians, being a meek lot and vulnerable to indoctrination, couldn't believe what they had been told all along was untrue. This is one reason why I think that up to 85 percent of what we have been taught in school and by our culture will be proven wrong. But back to Cam-Net.

Ever since this small company got into business they were forced to have customers reach their world-wide robotically-automated switching system in Lynden, Washington routed from Vancouver through the B.C. Tel network. B.C. Tel instantly substantially increased the charges for Cam-Net calls to travel that short distance. Cam-Net's business continued to grow because an increasing number of customers found the service a bargain even with the annoying B.C. Tel charge to the border.

Now new age technology will allow Cam-Net to run its traffic over a leased CNCP fibre-optic line from Vancouver and jump over the border via digital radio to Sumas, Washington where another fibreoptic link will carry calls to Cam-Net's network in Seattle. The previous exhorbitant Vancouver-to-the-border charge will evaporate as Cam-Net upgrades its Vancouver operation. The new process went into operation mid-1990. Cam-Net claims that customer savings will double. In June Cam-Net tied in with the cross-Canada CNCP link and offered, for the first time, calls within Canada to Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, again at substantial savings. As soon as some pending legislative changes are enacted, they will cover the rest of the country. The new game has begun.

Now for the first time in history Vancouverites have a real choice ... You can phone a Vancouver number, have your call go via the modern fibre-optic line to the border, enter the Cam-Net robot switcher on the U.S. side and then go anywhere in the world. With pre-programmed auto dialers you only have to press one button to accomplish this.

But the story does not end here. The biggest hurdle for Cam-Net was that a Canadian company was unable to do business throughout Canada. This came to an end. Vancouverites can now phone anywhere in Canada via the Cam-Net non-monopolistic network. Cam-Net estimates customers will save 20 to 25 percent over previous rates.

Why am I such a fan of this service? Because monopolies are not advantageous to small business or the individual. Since 1984 at least, Canadians have been over-paying for long distance phone service while phone company executives have been drawing excessive salaries, running up exorbitant expenses and have been increasing company profits with now unacceptable techniques. How did this work? Under C.R.T.C. regulations phone companies are allowed to make a fixed margin of profit of 14 percent after costs. So all a phone company had to do when their profit went over the limit was to increase costs ... buy more limousines, fly around the world checking (ostensibly) on other phone companies, or give the president another $100,000 raise. The customer has already paid for this with that extra profit they now have to spend. For a century phone companies have been making substantial profits (basically guaranteed by their CRTC-enforced monopoly) because they had no competition. A new age dawns: social and economic accountability.

Make your own decision about phone service, but to consider an alternative, see below. More information: Jay Mantil, Cam-Net Communications Inc., 885 Dunsmuir St. Vancouver, BC V6C 1N5.

Phone: 604/684-4111. (Editor's Note: Frank Ogden advises that he holds 100 shares of Cam-Net common stock, which allows him to attend their private shareholders' meetings.) (Cam-Net's new rates are in the following box.) Direct dialing per minute daytime phone rates 8 am to 6 pm. From Vancouver to Following U.S. Cities:

Local Price City Call Cam-Net Savings Company Alternative.

B.C. TEL .43 Seattle .26 40% .63 Chicago .38 40% .61 Los Angeles .37 40% .63 Miami .38 40% .63 New York .38 40% .63 St. Louis .38 40%

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