Rural Call Completion 

In many parts of rural America – including Virginia – customers are continuing to face problems in having telephone calls completed in a satisfactory manner.  In the telecommunications industry this has become known as the rural call termination problem.  There are many instances where calls to rural areas may not be completed, may be erroneously completed, may have false Caller ID information, may be of poor call quality or may be subject to strange ringing situations.   As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has noted: 

Consumers report significant problems when attempting to place calls to rural areas through their long distance providers, including excessive call setup delay and calls that fail to connect.  In some cases, the caller reports hearing prolonged ringing either before the called phone has actually been rung or when the called phone is never actually rung at all, causing the caller to think that no one is at the called location.  In other cases where calls to rural customers are delayed or fail to connect, rural carriers state that calls have failed to route properly and instead loop between providers, routing back to a provider that previously had handed off the same call to another provider for completion.  Carriers report that, at other times, calling parties receive false or misleading intercept messages that falsely indicate, for example, that the call cannot be completed as dialed. 

The solution to this issue is generally beyond the control of the terminating provider, that is, your local phone company.    The call terminating problem arises as calls are transmitted through the network – perhaps across the facilities of many different providers from start to finish.  Rural companies have been focused on this for some time and have asked that the FCC take actions to try to correct, or at least mitigate, the problems.  Many state commissions – including the Service Commission of Virginia – and many congressional offices, have also asked for action.  

The FCC has recently opened a rulemaking proceeding (WC Docket 13-39) to explore ways to fix this.   Crafting a suitable and effective remedy is not an easy task and, regrettably, not a quick one.  Delving into the network, finding the source of the problems, and then devising a viable solution is taking time.  It is frustrating that there is not an easy remedy that the terminating telephone company can impose.  If you are a customer who is continuing to experience problems, that FCC endeavor may not be much solace, but as of now, that is the situation.  Work is being done to find a way to correct or minimize this kind of problem. 

                                 These new services will be priced individually and in BUNDLES that will be competitively priced. 

The fiber system will increase reliability of services in all weather conditions. 

                                                                       NOTICE! 

As your contract for similar services (such as satellite TV) expire, please consider our new offerings!  

  Please visit our web page at www.bgtco.net often! 

         Stay abreast of our progress as we implement this expanded and new service. 

 CUSTOMER NOTICE: Burke's Garden Telephone Company does participate in the USAC "Low income & Lifeline Support Programs. To learn more call 2345. You may also visit the USAC site www.lifelinesupport.org to learn more about the program and who qualifies.