[2-T-539] Application Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company to Extend Its Lines in Town of Belmont, Lafayette County Decided April 1, 1939 APPLICATION of the Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company for authority to extend its lines in the town of Belmont, Lafayette County, to serve certain farmers as proposed, denied, with the exception of the proposed extension to serve one Fritz Gobrecht, public convenience and necessity requiring this extension which should be made under the utility's filed extension rules. 1. Telephone Utilities-Extensions-Public Convenience and Necessity Since there was nothing in the record to indicate that the applicants for Platteville service had greater need for the connection than other subscribers presently connected to the Rewey exchange of the Rewey & Mineral Point Telephone Company, and since the toll needs of these subscribers would be just as great should they be granted the Platteville service owing to the fact that they exchange farm work with neighbors who would continue to be served by the Rewey exchange, the application was denied. OPINION AND ORDER On January 4, 1939 Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company made application to the commission for authority to extend its lines in sections 20, 21, 28, and 29, town of Belmont, Lafayette County, to serve nine farmers. Hearing was held February 23, 1939 in the city hall at Platteville, Wisconsin, before Examiner Estelle L. Rowe. Appearances: Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company Rewey & Mineral Point Telephone Company David Jones, attorney, Mineral Point. Applicants for Service Appearing in Their Own Behalf Roy Rundell, Rewey. John Bockhop, Rewey. Daniel Buffington, Platteville. Fritz Gobrecht, Platteville. George Nodolf, Platteville. Of the commission staff W. H. Evans, rates and research department. OPINION Of the nine applicants for service from the Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company, Roy Rundell, John Bockhop, Walter Schuldt, and Henry Voigts are now being served by the Rewey & Mineral Point Telephone Company; George Nodolf, Louis H. Nodolf, and Elmer Nodolf own their own line, which is being switched at the Rewey exchange; and Daniel Buffington and Fritz Gobrecht are receiving no service at all. All of the above-named persons proposed to be served by the applicant reside in the town of Belmont, which for a number of years has been rendered telephone service by a utility or utilities. All of these men, with the exception of Mr. Gobrecht, are in what might be logically considered the territory adjacent to the Rewey exchange. Mr. Gobrecht is located about 51⁄2 miles from Rewey, 71⁄2 miles from Platteville, and 1⁄2 mile from the end of the Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company's line. While Mr. Gobrecht is not connected to any exchange he does have connection to an isolated line connecting two other farmers. Some years ago the Rewey exchange, which is now composed of 117 subscribers with 14 subscribers on switched lines and which is owned by the Rewey & Mineral Point Telephone Company, was operated jointly by several independent lines. The service rendered was very poor primarily because no one was directly responsible for the service of all of the lines. It seemed almost impossible to improve the service conditions as long as the lines were owned, operated, and handled as they were. By informal action the commission finally succeeded in getting these companies to combine and form the present company. One line, now owned by the Nodolf Brothers, would not join with the others at that time. The record shows that the cost of the Rewey & Mineral Point Telephone Company in taking over these various lines forming the present Rewey exchange amounted to $1,450. [1] The testimony taken at the hearing shows that for the last 4 years the total number of calls made to Platteville over the Rewey & Mineral Point Telephone Company's lines by all of the subscribers and transients was 1,139, an average of 25.3 per month. The calls made by the seven subscribers connected to the Rewey central over the Bell line for 1 year were 36, an average of three a month, or 0.43 of a call per month per subscriber. Information is not available as to the number of calls that these subscribers made over the Rewey line to Platteville, except that most of the witnesses testified they would not exceed two calls per month. Assuming that these seven subscribers made one-half of the calls, there would be only 1.78 calls per month per subscriber. This record of the toll calls seems to be convincing evidence that these subscribers in the past have not had sufficient need for Platteville connection to put in more than approximately two calls per month, at 10 cents per call, and it would indicate that their need for the Platteville service is not particularly pressing. The record shows that in every instance, with the possible exception of Mr. Rundell, witnesses testified that in the event they were connected to the Platteville Company's exchange they still would have need of Rewey service, because they trade farm work with their neighbors who are connected to the Rewey exchange. Considering this fact it would appear that there would be as many if not more toll calls from these witnesses under the proposed arrangement than if they retained the Rewey service and made the necessary toll calls to the Platteville exchange. There is nothing in the record to show that the subscribers in this locality have greater need for Platteville connection than other subscribers connected to the Rewey exchange. If these subscribers are given Platteville service there seems to be nothing to prevent the extension of the Platteville line to cover territory east, west, and possibly north of Rewey. If all telephone users in the locality surrounding the village of Rewey were included in one telephone company and operated under one management, the company would be small and the operating conditions, therefore, difficult. It follows that if subscribers are taken from this company, the whole community will suffer from a telephone standpoint. The applicant's estimate of cost to serve these nine proposed subscribers is $2,236.65, divided between material, $1,535.40, and labor, $701.25. There would be some duplication of pole line, since testimony for the applicant reveals that it would not use the present Nodolf line nor any other pole line now constructed in this locality. The evidence shows that no particular complaint has been made relative to service of the Rewey & Mineral Point Telephone Company; in fact, some of the witnesses stated the service is satisfactory. Mr. Gobrecht testified that the service which he received when calling over a neighbor's telephone was not good and that he would not take service from a company which was operating over grounded lines. In this connection it might be stated that because electric lines have been built in this locality inductive interference is present on the lines, but from the testimony given it appears that these lines are being made metallic as fast as possible and that it is the intention of the Rewey & Mineral Point Telephone Company to make all of their lines metallic. The only applicant for service requiring special consideration is Mr. Gobrecht. At present he is not receiving service from any exchange. Because he is located approximately 2 miles from any of the other applicants, and because he resides only 2 mile from the Platteville line there seems to be no particular reason why he should not have Platteville service. He, at least, has applied for that service and, since he has lived for a number of years in his present location without taking Rewey service, it is clear that he does not care for that service. As previously stated he has connection to an isolated line with two other farmers. It would seem that if Platteville service is extended to Mr. Gobrecht it would be proper to allow the same connection for his neighbors on this line if they desire the service. The Platteville Company has extension rules filed with the commission and if extension is made to Mr. Gobrecht it should be made, of course, under these rules. FINDINGS THE COMMISSION FINDS that public convenience and necessity do not require the granting of the application of the Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company with respect to an extension of its lines to serve Roy Rundell, John Bockhop, Daniel Buffington, George Nodolf, Elmer Nodolf, Louis H. Nodolf, Walter Schuldt, and Henry D. Voigts but that public convenience and necessity do require the granting of the application with respect to Fritz Gobrecht. ORDER IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, That the application of the Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company to extend its lines in sections 20, 21, 28, and 29, town of Belmont, Lafayette County, to serve Roy Rundell, John Bockhop, Daniel Buffington, George Nodolf, Elmer Nodolf, Louis H. Nodolf, Walter Schuldt, and Henry D. Voigts be and the same is hereby denied. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That the application to extend to Fritz Gobrecht be granted and that service be extended to him by the said Platteville, Rewey & Ellenboro Telephone Company in accordance, with its extension rules on file with this commission. |