Miss. phone deregulation clears another hurdle

Miss. phone deregulation clears another hurdle

Mississippi would lose most of its remaining regulatory authority over AT&T under a bill the House gave final passage Monday.

Telephone service in Mississippi was mostly deregulated in 2006, ending the Public Service Commission’s traditional power to set rates. House Bill 825 would remove the commission’s remaining ratemaking authority over 30,000 local-only landlines.

The measure would also end AT&T’s obligation to serve as company of last resort for landline customers in its traditional territory, and eliminate requirements that the company file service and financial data with the commission.

AP
4/9/12