Universal Service Fund Ready To Run

Those few Missourians who don’t have telephone service could soon be getting some help from a special fund approved by the Legislature in 1996. Public Service Commission Chairman Kelvin Simmons says the MissouriUniversal Service Fund should be operating in a few months. Residential and commercial phone surcharges should build a fund totalling nearly $5-Million. Simmons says the state should be able to pay $3.50 a month toward basic phone service. And, he says federal assistance could add another $5. Nearly all Missourians have telephones. Those few who don’t either are living in poverty or have medical bills associated with disabilities that make it difficult to afford phone service.