PacBell Rate Hikes Opposed by Coalition : * Utilities: Groups tell the PUC that the phone company first should reach out to thousands of Latino households that have no service.

Asserting that Pacific Bell has not tried hard enough to reach tens of thousands of Los Angeles-area Latino households without telephone service, a coalition of public interest and minority groups on Thursday urged the state Public Utilities Commission to table the phone company’s proposed residential rate hikes.

The coalition, relying on a 1987 internal marketing study at Pacific Bell, said one-third of Latino households in the Los Angeles area--and one-quarter in the San Francisco-San Jose region--do not have telephones.

Pacific Bell said that the coalition was using outdated figures and that a 1991 survey showed that the percentage in the Los Angeles area was much lower, between 13% and 15%. Statewide, the percentage was between 10% and 15%, the company said.

“I am disappointed they are not giving us credit for what we’ve done to reach this market,” said Maury Rosas, vice president and general manager of Pacific Bell’s Latino marketing group.

Nonetheless, Edith Adame of the San Francisco-based Latino Issues Forum said the coalition wants the PUC to put Pacific Bell’s proposed rate changes on hold until it can be determined why and how many Latinos lack telephone service. If Pacific Bell increased service to Latinos, she said, an overall rate increase might not be needed.

“This is a huge market that wants service and can provide them with new revenue,” Adame said.

Pacific Bell and GTE--seeking to compete with American Telephone & Telegraph, MCI and other firms planning to enter California’s in-state long-distance market--want to shift $1 billion in phone charges from long distance to local service. A PUC administrative law judge is holding hearings on the proposed changes and is expected to make a recommendation to the commission later this year.

Pacific Bell is seeking a 60% hike in basic residential service charges over three years while reducing the cost of many in-state long-distance calls by 20% to 30%. It also proposes raising residential installation charges over three years to $56.70 from $34.75.

PUC President Daniel Fessler said the commission will look closely to see that there is “adequate penetration of phone service” before approving any rate hike. He continued: “I don’t think a big push to sign up customers should follow a big increase in installation rates.”