Senate Delays Land-Line Vote

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...The Senate delayed a vote Wednesday on a bill drafted by AT&T that could limit the availability of land-line phone service in Kentucky after they learned House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, has major concerns about the bill. Stumbo says there are some areas of the state, including parts of his district in eastern Kentucky, where it is difficult to communicate with certain rural parts of the county via cell phones, and eliminating land lines would eliminate access in case of emergencies and for elderly people who don't have or are not accustomed to cell phones. Opponents claim it would let the state's three major phone carriers, AT&T, Windstream and Cincinnati Bell, abandon rural communities where poor and elderly residents depend on basic land-line service, including operator assistance and 911.