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BOOP( EQUAL ACCESS BALLOT - LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE SERVICE The Board reviewed staff memo and recommendation: 5 ; A u c 113 TO:The Honorable Members July , 1986 of the Board of County DATE: FILE: Commissioners THRU: Tommy Thomas Acting County Admiin 'strator SUBJECT: Equal Access Ballot THRU: H. T. "Sonny" (Long Distance Service) Director, Genera Services yin Williams _ FROM: Superintendent REFERENCES: Buildings & Grounds DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS All telephone service subscribers, residential and business, are being given or will be given in the near future, an option of choosing a company to provide Long Distance service by dial "1" access. This service is presently provided to the County and many others by AT&T Simply put this is the company whose lines you access when you dial"1" for a direct dial long distance call Due to the divestiture of the Bell System, all subscribers have the option of choosing one long distance Company, by ballot, with no charge for installation or hook-up. You may change companies at any time after the ballot is submitted by paying a ten dollar ($10.00) per line service.charge. The Indian River County Administration and Courthouse Complexes are for the most part served by one telephone system. A total of 20 outgoing lines allow access to long distance lines. In addition to vendor provided long distance lines, the County has five outgoing trunks for accessing the State provided Suncom network. An average of 950 of all long distance calls placed through the Administration telephone system are connected through the Suncom System. Of the remaining 5% call volume, approximately 30% are placed over long distance lines within the Southern Bell network which serves the lower east coast and most of South Florida. The remainder of the non-Suncom-long distance calls are presently provided by AT&T. This is again divided by 60% Calling Card (Credit Card) calls and 40% Direct dialed or operator assisted calls Calls placed over the Suncom Network and Southern Bell lines are not affected by the equal access ballot decision. The decision will impact approximately 75 to 80 calls per month or $160 to $170 monthly in long distance costs. Eight of the Twelve companies listed on the ballot were contacted concerning long distance service. Four companies responded with written rate schedules and information explaining their offerings. AT&T, Microtel, Teltec, and Western Union were compared by choosing ten calls to various cities in proportion to our normal calling pattern and applying the rates as provided by the Vendor. In addition to the rate structures, staff requested specific instructions regarding the placement of long distance calls using a Calling Card (credit card). 66