DENVER-U S West Communications Inc. received government permission to offer cellular vouchers to customers facing a lengthy wait for a landline phone.
U S West has experienced a dramatic number of “held orders” in recent years, mostly in Colorado and Arizona.
Customers who have to wait more than 30 days for a primary line can receive a voucher granting them, for example, $150 a month toward cellular service and a loaner phone as well.
The voucher is good for whichever cellular operator the customer chooses, said Dave Banks, spokesman for U S West Communications.
“In Utah, we’ve given them cellular phones uncapped [no limit] because it actually may cost less,” Banks said.
U S West had applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a waiver of Part 22 rules, which would have required it to offer cellular through a separate subsidiary. The FCC approved the waiver which allows the voucher plan. The company had been providing the vouchers on a temporary basis.
Numerous new neighborhoods are popping up in Colorado and Arizona, requiring many new telephone lines. At the same time, older neighborhoods are demanding more lines per household than in previous years, Banks said.
