On March 11, after weeks of getting bombarded by thousands of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from Oklahoma consumers, the Commission unanimously voted to postpone consideration of the statewide toll-free calling plan. The vote effectively “Axes the Wireless Tax” for now. MCA supporters who contacted the Commission deserve full credit for helping the Commissioners realize the proposal needed to be more carefully examined. Congratulations for making sure your voices were heard!

Axe the Wireless Tax Campaign Timeline

In mid January, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), the state agency tasked with regulating utilities across the state, began a process to study whether a statewide toll-free calling area would be a good idea.

After the process began, The Oklahoman ran an article about the proposal that looked at arguments both for and against the plan. The next day, the Tulsa World ran an editorial which pointed out that the OCC’s “toll-free” plan would not really be free – after all, someone would have to pay for it, right?

Soon after, The Oklahoman reported what the Tulsa World editorial writers had already guessed – that the plan would cost consumers roughly $2.00 per month per line in additional fees. This new fee would be for ALL phone lines, regardless of whether they are landlines, cellular lines, or Internet phone lines. The $2.00 figure was only an initial estimate from the OCC staff, which meant the additional monthly fees could end up being even higher.

Well, it didn’t take long for the Commission staff to revise their initial estimate. On February 22nd, Commission staff released a supplemental economic analysis which showed a new estimate of $3.19 per month per line, which was quickly reported by The Oklahoman.

The media initially reported that the OCC had until April 1st to send their proposal to the state legislature. Once it became clear that the OCC plan was a serious possibility, opinions started rolling in about whether statewide toll-free calling made sense for Oklahoma consumers.

Leading off those opinions was the Hughes County Times in Wetumka, (PDF file), and it wasn’t good news for the OCC’s plan.

On February 19th, Mid-American Communications Alliance filed an official comment with the Commission opposing the plan and began a statewide grassroots effort to convince the OCC to scrap the proposal.

On February 24th, the Tulsa World published an editorial publicly opposing the Commission plan, calling the proposal a “waste of time” and “a bad deal for most telephone users in Oklahoma.”

On February 25th, the Oologah Lake Leader published an editorial in opposition of the OCC proposal, (PDF file) calling the plan “a child of Satan that should be strangled in its cradle before it can get any bigger and cause Oklahoma irreparable harm.”

On February 26th, The Oklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper, published an editorial opposing a statewide toll-free calling plan and urging the Commission to “hang up on this idea.”

On March 4th, The Oklahoman reported that debate surrounding the OCC proposal was raging and that there were questions about whether the Commission even had the legal jurisdiction to implement the plan.

On March 5th, the Tulsa World published a letter to the editor from MCA’s Executive Director urging the Commission to scrap the toll-free calling plan.

On March 11, after weeks of being inundated by thousands of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from MCA supporters and other Oklahoma consumers, the Commission unanimously voted to postpone consideration of the statewide toll-free calling plan. The vote effectively “Axed the Wireless Tax,” putting the brakes on a rushed and ill-conceived proposal.

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