Stevensville, MD - In its third letter to the Maryland Public Service Commission, CloseCall America, a full-service telecommunications company specializing in low-priced community calling, today urged the regulatory body to remove several barriers to entry that currently prevent consumers from switching local carriers. CloseCall asked the Commission to take three simple steps that would "help to ensure true freedom of choice for local telephone service" and ultimately allow consumers to save money.

In the letter, CloseCall America President and CEO Tom Mazerski said, "Too many people are unaware that they have a choice for local telephone service. Those who do realize that they have a choice and decide to switch carriers, are often held hostage and/or penalized because voice mail and high speed data service (DSL) are unavailable since the Commission does not require Verizon to resell these telecommunications services (like in other states). Verizon's refusal to resell these services is inconsistent with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and immediate action is required."

"While CloseCall America has been competing in the Maryland telephone market since 1999, we believe the deck is stacked against smaller companies. We are forced to absorb fees of $14 for residential customers and $28 for business customers each time a customer switches from Verizon to CloseCall America. Verizon is essentially charging people to leave them and companies like CloseCall are forced to cover the cost or potentially lose the sale. This is completely illogical and also runs counter to the intent of the Telecommunications Act of 1996."

According to CloseCall America, the following three steps could go a long way toward increasing competition and providing Maryland consumers with clear-cut choices for local service.

They are:


1. Increase Consumer Awareness - Because many consumers are unaware that they have a choice for local telephone service, we propose that the Maryland Public Service Commission initiate a public awareness campaign about telecommunications choice like it has done for electric choice.
   
   
2. Promote Competition - In order to allow more entrants into the local market, we propose that Verizon be required to provide discounts of at least 50 percent on wholesale rates. In addition, any and all up-front charges for customers to switch their telephone services should be eliminated for at least 48 months.
   
   
3. Improve Choice - We propose that Verizon be forced to resell "all telecommunications services" -- as required by the Telecommunications Act -- such as voice mail and DSL service. Currently, many consumers are blocked from switching due to the constraints placed on these services.

About CloseCall America

CloseCall America, which began business in 1999, is a Maryland company with offices in Queen Anne’s County on the state’s Eastern Shore. CloseCall prides itself on its commitment to superior customer service, with all calls handled locally rather than “outsourced” to firms in other states or countries. CloseCall provides its customers local and long distance phone service, bundled packages, wireless service, BlackBerry service, high speed Internet, standard dial-up, and VoIP (broadband phone service). Additional information on CloseCall America can be found at its website: www.closecall.com.

For further information, including how to sign up, please contact CloseCall America at 1-877-81CLOSE (1-877-812-5673), or by email at customerservice@closecall.com.

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