Local Telephone Project Begins

Published 2:40 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

Valley telephone users will see an improvement

in service soon as Fall City and Cascade Telephone

Companies began the final phase of their 1971

Telephone Service Improvement project Monday in Fall City.

According to Bud Eschbach, Manager of the two companies, the improvements include the

elimination of eighty-party lines, making a five-party line

maximum; and customers will hear only their own ring.

Improvements will be made in Direct Distance

dialing eliminating many operator functions.

Pacific Utilities, Inc. of Bothell was low bidder

on the Fall City project, and completion of that

portion is expected by the end of June. Scheduled for

completion this fall are the Snoqualmie, Preston and

Carnation projects.

Eschbach noted that the Preston office will be

deactivated next year and the functions will be

absorbed into the Fall City exchange.

These projects are part of the $1,329,830

budget that was approved by Telephone Utilities Inc.,

the parent company for the Cascade and Fall City

Telephone Companies. Cascade’s improvement budget

is approximately $800,000 and Fall City’s is about $500,000.