Missouri AT&T Customers Can Say Goodbye to White Pages

AT&T has announced it is planning to discontinue automatic distribution of the White Pages telephone directory, claiming they are a legacy of the past and no longer necessary.  The proposal, which requires approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission, would impact AT&T customers in metropolitan Kansas City and St. Louis.

AT&T last year stopped automatic delivery of the phone book in Atlanta, with the promise of giving one to any customer who still wanted it. By April, only one percent of its customers had asked for one.

Dropping automatic delivery is “an idea whose time has come,” said Kerry Hibbs, an AT&T spokesman.

Customers can still request a directory, and Yellow Pages will continue to be delivered as always, but AT&T expects most people will obtain telephone listings from the Internet and do not expect high demand for the White Pages.

AT&T claims that as many customers switch to wireless phone service, the completeness of the directory is compromised.  Wireless phone numbers are unlisted.  In other metropolitan areas, AT&T has already obtained permission to stop directory service, including the city of Austin, and has regulatory approval to stop automatic delivery in Ohio.  Approval is also pending in North Carolina and Florida.

The Missouri Public Service Commission has received more than 120 comments or letters on the proposal, with about 80 percent against it.

An elderly couple who didn’t have a computer for using online directories told regulators, “If we do not have the White Pages we cannot find anything.”

Environmentally, despite the fact directories are printed on recycled paper, the amount of paper consumed by phone directory printing is substantial.

At this time, no reduction in rates is proposed to cover the savings anticipated by AT&T from no longer printing millions of White Pages for customers.