Enclosed please find copies of two articles from the American press, describing the kind of de-
velopments which must be avoided in Canada. :

-- The first article, entitled "The Anatomy of a Phone Bill," ran in the Los Angeles Times in
1988. This is a guide to reading American phone bills, which have become incredibly
lengthy and complicated documents since long distance competition was introduced south of
the border. Please note the fact that these bills itemize and charge for services that are in-
cluded in the flat rate monthly telephone bill in Canada.

The second article, which ran in the San Diego Union in Septernber 1991, is entitled
"PacBell asks rate increase of nearly 60%". It describes the further disruptions that will
hit the telephone system in the U.S. when long distance companies are allowed to enter the
local service market.

The Unitel company has issued an endless stream of advertisements and disclaimers to assure
Canadians that what they are seeking bears no resemblance to the mess that has developed in the
U.S. These advertisements are based on advice from Decima Research, the national polling
company that also advises the Mulroney government. Decima told Unitel that a successful sell-
ing strategy would have to avoid discussion of local rate increases and service disruptions at alll

cost.

Please read these two articles carefully. They provide a frightening view of what the future of
telecommunications could look like if Ted Rogers and his friends have their way.

We are asking individuals and organizations who share our concerns about the effects that the
introduction of long distance competition will have on Canada's telephone system to communi-

cate these concerns to

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE BRIAN MULRONEY
PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA

THE HONOURABLE PERRIN BEATTY
MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

YOUR OWN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

LETTERS TO EACH OF THESE POLITICIANS CAN BE SENT WITHOUT POSTAGE TO THE HOUSE OF
COMMONS, OTTAWA, ONTARIO.

Thank you for your help in preserving universal, affordable telephone service in Canada.

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