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In the past month alone, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania approved Verizon Communications Inc.’s request to quit distributing residential white pages. Goodmann is a doctoral student who is doing her dissertation on the history of the telephone book. Emily Goodmann sits with a stack of phone books at the Northwestern University Library in Evanston, Ill. (AP) – What’s black and white and read all over? Not the white pages, which is why regulators have begun granting telecommunications companies the go-ahead to stop mass-printing residential phone books, a musty fixture of Americans’ kitchen counters, refrigerator tops and junk drawers. If a customer would rather not receive a directory, we provide information on the cover and inside the book on how they can stop future delivery, Customers can call 1-86 or visit to manage their directory delivery” They say the business white pages and yellow pages aren’t going anywhere, just the residential directories.įact is more consumers are keeping and using our yellow pages than they have in years, and our clients are receiving 10 percent more calls this year than last year from their advertising.ĪT&T, which also supplies yellow and white pages throughout the state, responded with the following statement: SuperMedia publishes the directories for Verizon. The California Public Utilities Commission did not immediately return a request for information. The Associated Press originally reported Thursday that various states began granting “telecommunications companies the go-ahead to stop mass-printing residential phone books.” However, California wasn’t included in the original story, which you can find after the break. If there are no objections we’ll make that change starting at the beginning of next year. We’ve submitted a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission seeking approval to end the mass distribution of white pages unless customers request them, either in printed or CD-ROM format. In Florida, the directory assistance charge is $1.50 if calling from a landline phone.A staple of households everywhere, including California, may soon go away – the physical residential directory. You have to take the extra step of calling instead of it just showing up on your doorstep."įor people who don't have access to computers, making the call to order the phone book would be a money-saver in this regard - they wouldn't have to rely on directory assistance when they need a local residential phone number.
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"At this point, we're still talking about free white pages. "If that were to happen, it would be much farther down the road," he said.
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One point of discussion at the commission's vote was whether AT&T would be able to charge for the white pages phone book or the compact disc if the state stops requiring distribution to all customers.Ĭommission spokesman Todd Brown said that's a "big if." The Public Service Commission said reducing the number of those phone books would reduce waste and be environmentally friendly. What's missing? Residential phone numbers for Jacksonville, which take up about 600 pages in a white pages phone book.
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The Jacksonville Yellow Pages also has sections compiling both business and residential numbers for several areas - Baldwin, the Jacksonville Beaches, Maxville-Middleburg, Orange Park, Yulee, Callahan and Macclenny. This year's Yellow Pages for Jacksonville has a directory of phone numbers for local businesses and a blue pages section of government numbers. Though the white pages is fading to black, AT&T is still widely delivering its Yellow Pages to customers' doorsteps.
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Another option is to use a compact disc from AT&T for downloading the full directory.Īdditionally, many smartphones such as Blackberry and the iPhone, feature access to the white and Yellow pages via free mobile applications. People can still get the phone book by ordering it, or they can opt to go online to company-operated sites. AT&T spokesman Sage Rhodes said Tuesday the new approach highlights customer choice.
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