What's the new number you can use to reach Delaware Relay?

Now, to use Delaware Relay from anywhere inside the state, dial 7-1-1.

Delaware Relay* is used by thousands of people each day and allows communication between standard telephone users and people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-disabled and who use TTYs (text telephones). Now you can reach Delaware Relay by dialing this simple, easy-to-remember number.

On July 8, 1998, Bell Atlantic pledged to provide 7-1-1 as a number that could be used to reach Relay centers throughout its service territory. Now, effective June 12, 2000, because of that promise, 7-1-1 is here and can be dialed from anywhere in the state to access Delaware Relay.

How does Delaware Relay work? Delaware Relay connects a person using a TTY who cannot hear or speak clearly over the telephone with a standard telephone user. The Communication Assistant (CA) then relays the conversation between the two parties. All calls are handled with strictest confidentiality. The CA Relay Operator has been trained to help conversations flow accurately and with ease. There is no limit on the number of times you may use the service, and there is no additional cost. Delaware Relay is available around the clock, 365 days a year.

You may not have heard about Delaware Relay before. Thousands of TTY users throughout the state rely on it to communicate with others. If you answer the telephone and Delaware Relay is on the line, please don't hang up. With your existing telephone system and Delaware Relay, you could be communicating with family, friends, and a world of customers who use TTYs.

Local relay calls placed from a coin telephone are free. However, if a relay call placed from a coin telephone is toll or long distance, customers must use a pre-paid or calling card; coins are not accepted. Toll call using calling cards cost no more than if paid with coins or with pre-paid cards. These rates vary by provider.

You may use Delaware Relay from anywhere outside Delaware by dialing the 800 number that you currently use. But from now on, when you call Delaware Relay from inside the state, use this simple new number: 7-1-1.

To all Delaware relay and TTY users: Please continue to dial 9-1-1 for emergencies. 7-1-1 is only for regular calls.

To learn more about Delaware Relay and 7-1-1, please call 1-800-682-8706 (voice) or 1-800-682-8786 (TTY).

*Provided by Bell Atlantic-Delaware, Inc. through a contract with AT&T.

Competition Needed in Delaware Telecommunication

by Joshua W. Martin III
Published in Delaware Capitol Review, March 1-7, 1999, page 5.

Three years ago, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 became law. One of the most important sections of the Act says that, when Bell Atlantic-Delaware has opened its local network to competitors, it can then enter the long distance market. Bell Atlantic-Delaware has been working for the past three years to open the local market in Delaware to competition, because, under current law, it is the only way we will be allowed to compete in the long distance market.

So what is so important about more competition? First, more competition in all markets means more choices for consumers. Moreover, most telecommunications companies quickly came to the realization that most customers want to have a single provider for all of their telecommunications needs - that is local service, long distance, mobile phone service and even Internet access with a single bill. And a single company to call when they have questions (a requirement called "one-stop shopping" in the industry). Companies that can meet this consumer demand for a single bill will be far more successful than those that only satisfy a portion of customers' requirements.

Bell Atlantic wants to be one of those companies. To be successful, we need to be able to offer a package of long distance service, local service, Internet service and all the other new products and services that are sure to come. That is the plain and simple business imperative of the new millennium in telecommunications. That is why we have opened our markets to competitors. And why we continue to fight for competition on a level playing field. Because that is what customers are demanding.

While it makes good business sense for us to open our markets and be able to offer long distance, some large, international telecommunications firms believe their business interests are best served by keeping us off the long distance playing field. Their rationale is both simple and elegant. First, by delaying our entry into long distance, they expect to capture customers who will remain with them when markets are eventually opened. As you may know from personal experience, inertia is a powerful marketing tool. Second, their motive is money. Profit margins in the long distance market dwarf those in the local phone market - approximately 38 to 11 percent. Obviously, the large, out of state telecommunications giants believe they have more to lose by letting us into their markets than they have to gain by getting into ours and serving the day-to-day needs of residential and business customers.

Bell Atlantic-Delaware has invested about $400 million dollars in Delaware's telecommunications network over the last five years. We made that investment to meet the unprecedented demand for new capacity in the network, to provide increased bandwidth to maximize Internet speed, and to deploy new, advanced services. It is no coincidence that a recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report states that 97.4 percent of Delaware households have telephone service, the second highest penetration level in the entire country. Of perhaps even greater significance, Delaware's penetration level for households with income under $10,000, ranked first in the nation at 97.3 percent. It is clear that Delaware has a vibrant telecommunications market, and that Bell Atlantic-Delaware is an integral part of that market contributing everyday to the State's economic well being.

Moreover, in Delaware, we have vigorous and growing competition for local service, and not just for the big business customers. Today, Conectiv Communications is serving thousands of residence and thousands of business customers. In fact, a spokesperson for Conectiv, in a recent article, commented about Delaware's market, saying, "we think the fruits of competition have been real". Conectiv proves what we have long contended ž any company that wants to compete in the local phone market in Delaware con do so, and successfully. Conectiv also recognized early on that customers want a single provider. They recently stated that almost 70 percent of their local service customers also subscribe to Conectiv's long distance service. Of course without long distance as part of Bell Atlantic-Delaware's service package, the comparable figure for us is zero.

We anxiously await the day when the citizens of Delaware have the opportunity to choose Bell Atlantic (or, to be fair, even another telecommunications company) to provide all of their telecommunications needs, on one bill.

Meanwhile, Bell Atlantic-Delaware will continue to spend millions of dollars to facilitate competitive entry into the local market in Delaware. And one day soon, we will come before the Public Service Commission and ask for their support of our petition to the Federal Communications Commission to enter the long distance market. We believe that when we do, the Public Service Commission of Delaware will continue their tradition of fostering competition in all sectors of the telecommunications industry, fulfilling the promises of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 for citizens in Delaware promises of fair competition everywhere, lower prices, innovative new services and most importantly, the freedom for every Delawarean to continue to work hard to make sure Bell Atlantic is their first choice.

National 411 Kick-off

In March, 1999 Joshua W. Martin III, President & CEO of Bell Atlantic-Delaware visits the Directory Assistance group in Wilmington, Delaware. It was the kickoff of the Nationwide Directory Assistance launch of 411 dialing for customers to get listings anywhere in the United States.

Above left: CEO Martin congratulates Mary Ann Walls who received the first customer request for a nationwide listing.
Above right: Supervisor Patricia Noland notes another nationwide request received by operator Linda Henderson.