LUS to take on Cox and BellSouth
Cable, phone and internet customers could be
paying cheaper rates, and it's coming from unexpected
competition. Lafayette Utilities System wants to expands its
services. A utility company stepping into the telecommunications
business has only been done in 17 cities across the country.
LUS Director, Terry Huval talks about other
cities that have been successful and says, "They can't keep the
phones from ringing off the hook, because people are saying we
want this service. They want this service because of the
quality, they want this service because of the responsiveness,
they want this service because of the price."
Take for example in Dalton, Georgia where utility
customers pay less than eighty-dollars a month for cable,
internet and phone service. Huval says on average, people in
Lafayette Parish pay $125 a month. A move like this could mean,
on average, a bill that's fifty dollars cheaper. "Substantial
money that stays in the consumer's pockets," Huval says.
This will put LUS head-to-head with companies
like BellSouth and Cox Communications, and put a competitive
edge in Lafayette where there is little or no competition. For
customers, it boils down to more choices. The city-parish
government is expecting an uphill battle from the competition.
Huval says, "We've seen Briston, Virginia say it took us a year
to get out of the big debate that took place, because the
telecommunications companies kept throwing road block after road
block after road block to make it difficult for us to get
through to try and throw doubt in people's minds."
City-Parish President, Joey Durel says this can
put Lafayette on the map, unique to the United States. If LUS
launches this service, it could open the door for companies to
move to Lafayette, creating more jobs that pay more than minimum
wage. Durel says, "That's my biggest issue. I said many times we
have got to get impatient on the subject of getting our kids and
our young people back to Lafayette and back home, and it's going
to take jobs. We can have a great place to live, but without
jobs they can't stay."
The service is not defiinite, yet. LUS is
conducting a study to find out if there's a demand for it, and
the results will be in mid-June. If it does kick-off, the
business will pay for itself over time. LUS will use loans and
Huval says taxpyaers wouldn't dish out any money to get the
service started.
