New Minneapolis/St. Paul ISDN Pricing

[Matthew Sparby <matthews@scc.net>]

  The following information was obtained from the gofast.net web site regarding US West's new ISDN tarriffs in the Twin Cities area.  While the Flat rate is at a respectable amount under the new tarriff, I think the 200 hour measured service should be closer the $39 mark and flat measured service should be closer to $20 if it should even be an option.  It's my understanding that these tarriffs were effective 11 March, 1996:
  
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  $39 per month Measured Service - provides ISDN with per minute charges for local calls originated from the line at 2 cents per minute.
  
  $68 per month Measured Service with 200 Hours - provides 200 hours of local voice and data calls originated on the line as part of the monthly rate. Additional usage over 200 hours is billed at .02 per minute.
  
  $184 per month Flat Rate - provides unlimited usage on the ISDN line. This service is ideal for using ISDN as a replacement for point-to-point private lines. (NOTE: pairing this with a $39 line delivers a full-time 128k point-to-point connection for $223 a month)
  
  $110 installation - installation for these services is $110 per line for locations within 18,000 feet of an ISDN switch ... or about 3.5 miles. If you are beyond that distance, there's now an additional $100 charge to "extend" ISDN to you using ISDN U-repeaters or BRITE cards in a SLC system. These install charges just go to the demarc.  Internal wiring is, of course, extra.
  
  Expanded Availability - as part of the new filing, ISDN is also planned to be made available to "fringe" switches around the metro area at the same rates available in the downtown areas. According to the tariff, they'll provide ISDN to you if your switch is within 23 miles of an ISDN equipped office, but only after they disclosed your office. (If you care to know the gory details, the ISDN service will be extended out from the ISDN-equipped office using BRITE cards in D4 channel banks.) 
  
  "Zone B" Availability - for areas outside the metro, U S West has also added "Zone B" pricing which will allow them to extend ISDN to central offices beyond the 23 mile limit. While the installation price of $110 remains the same, the monthly prices for Zone B are slightly higher at $92 for measured, $104 for 200 hours, and $199 for flat rate service.