At Richmond School, Welch Highlights Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Call Completion in Rural America

Statement

Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) today visited Camels Hump Middle School in Richmond to highlight his bipartisan legislation to address the frequency of dropped telephone calls in rural America. In Vermont, rural school administrators regularly experience dropped calls while notifying parents of school cancellations due to inclement weather.

In some rural areas of the country, nearly one in five inbound calls to landline phones are not completed or are of poor quality. Poor call completion in rural areas often stems from the use by retail long distance providers of third parties to deliver calls at reduced rates. As a member of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, Welch has been a strong advocate for improving rural call completion and connectivity in rural America and holding third party providers accountable.

"Reliable telephone service is a lifeline for residents, businesses, and schools in rural parts of Vermont and the country. Vermonters living and doing business in rural parts of our state should have the confidence that every call they make and every call they receive are completed without disruption," Welch said. "It is simply unacceptable in the 21st Century for rural Americans to be frustrated by dropped calls due to telecom provider connection issues."

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