CLOVER -- The 222 telephone number prefix
is a curse for residents looking to make toll-free calls within York
County.
Clover residents are alone on a telecommunication island, surrounded
by callers who can dial the far reaches of the county -- and further, in
some cases -- without having to pay long-distance charges.
"You can call everywhere but Clover for free in York County," said
Rep. Herb Kirsh, D-Clover, who has fought for more than a decade to get
countywide toll-free telephone service.
On Wednesday, the Public Service Commission requested the state
Office of Regulatory Staff look into what the cost would be to connect
all of York County and whether customers would be willing to possibly
pay more for such service.
Regulatory Staff officials still are awaiting written instructions
from the commission to get started, said director C. Dukes Scott. The
office has 60 days to complete the survey, which Scott believes begins
once they receive instruction.
Unlike the rest of York County, Clover is not connected to Comporium
Communications for telephone or cable service. Its cable is provided by
Time Warner, with telephone service provided by BellSouth.
Comporium now offers telephone service through its cable lines to
residents in York, Hickory Grove, Sharon, Lake Wylie and River Hills.
"It's a little improvement," Kirsh said. "It probably covers 90
percent of the county."
Just not Clover.
Time Warner took over the contract for Clover service when it bought
Jones Intercable, which signed a 12-year contract with the town of
Clover in 1992. That contract expired last year, and Time Warner now is
negotiating for a longer-term contract, said Town Administrator Scott
Moulder.
Though Comporium provides cable service to most of York County,
Moulder said the Rock Hill-based company has not contacted him to
express interest in serving Clover.
Glenn McFadden, Comporium's executive vice president of operations,
said the company hasn't made Clover a priority, in part because of the
expense of establishing service in a new area.
"That's not something we've been interested in," McFadden said.
Comporium, however, does have some cable customers in the surrounding
Clover area, just not in the town itself, McFadden said.
Those customers could also use the new telephone-via-cable service
that connects western York County residents with Comporium cable lines
nearby toll-free to all of York County, the panhandle of Lancaster
County and Gastonia, N.C., McFadden said.
Now that Comporium has done its part to link its York County
telephone customers toll-free, Kirsh said he plans to concentrate his
attention on Time Warner and BellSouth. He will resume his efforts to
get himself and his constituents connected with the rest of the county
without incurring per-call charges when the next legislative session
begins in January.
"The only thing I haven't done yet is make them hire a lobbyist to
fight me," Kirsh joked, adding 11 out of 46 S.C. counties have toll-free
calling. "And I feel York County ought to be one of them."
BellSouth's regional director could not be reached for comment.
Jason Cato • 329-4071
jcato@heraldonline.com
