TELECOMMUNICATIONS

PUC Targets Phone Firms for Allegedly ‘Slamming’ Customers: The state Public Utilities Commission says it is investigating at least six long-distance phone companies believed to have illegally signed up customers without their permission or knowledge, a practice known in the industry as “slamming.” The number of slamming complaints received by the PUC has quadrupled between 1991 and 1995, from 1,140 to 4,500. Houston-based Heartline Communications Inc. has been barred from doing business in California after it was discovered the company had slammed as many as 40,000 Californians. The PUC last spring began checking on companies it believed were the worst offenders. Since then, the commission has issued fines to a number of firms.