MTC begins charging 411 calls

Do you want to find out a certain phone number and can’t grab a directory? Think twice before dialing 411.

Beginning today, the MTC, the lone domestic phone provider in the Northern Marianas, will charge callers of 411 a 25 cent toll fee after exhausting the three free calls allowed per month for the use of its directory assistance.

The move is intended to discourage people from using the 411 to ask for phone numbers, which has cost MTC additional expenses for overtime pay for its operators who are using the 24-hour computer service put in place by the company.

On an average, operators receive as much as 4,500 calls per day or about 130,000 calls every month because of the fact that the 411 service is free of charge, according to company officials.

“We’re not looking to increase our revenues. We hope people to stop using it,” said David Rogers, MTC general manager.

The executive attended the board meeting of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. last Thursday to inform them of the change, which becomes effective May 1. This is part of the requirement under the franchise agreement with the government-owned utility firm.

Board director Laura I. Manglona asked Mr. Rogers to increase the free calls to five, but the executive said he would look into the request while reiterating the intention of this move.

But not everyone is too happy about charging 411 calls. Rep. Rosiky F. Camacho, chair of the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications, protested the decision last Friday.

He wrote a letter to Mr. Rogers telling him that the current phone directory provided to subscribers “is not as accurate as MTC claims.” In the information leaflets as well as ads put out by the company, it maintained that the phone book and the database have been updated and include all of the current phone numbers for CNMI customers.

But Mr. Camacho cited for instance that numbers for members of the Legislature are not up to date as the directory reflects listings of the previous contact numbers, that included even those who are no longer serving after losing in the last elections.

“Most consumers will be charged for calling their newly elected officials that are not listed in the new 2000 directory,” he said.

While acknowledging that U.S. phone companies charge customers for 411 calls in the mainland, Mr. Camacho stressed that phone books are distributed to the subscribers door steps or mailed at their request. “MTC does not provide such a service to the consumers in the CNMI,” he said.

The representative also expressed worry that senior residents may find the new system disadvantageous as they are not capable to use the phone book, and thus they rely so much on the 411 service. “Most of these elders currently have limited income and may not have a choice when obtaining a telephone number,” added Mr. Camacho.

MTC has waived the fee for customers who cannot read the phone book due to a physical disability on the condition that they provide the operator with information regarding the disability.

In line with the new 411 regulations, the company also begins to implement a new program called the Directory Assistance Call Completion or DACC which can connect callers to the number they have just asked.

The service imposes a fee of 35 cents per call which is on top of the 25 cents toll for the 411 call. These charges will be reflected on the monthly MTC billings.