Telephone Company the full increase it was requesting for domestic calling rates has been described as a victory for the people.

Only time will if that is true.

This issue is extremely complicated and whatever decision the Commission made was bound to make someone unhappy. There is probably no question that BTC is displeased with the result. The trade unions who represent workers at the Company whose jobs may now be at risk will have found little cheer in the decision either.

BTC, of course, is in a tough spot. It will say that the Telecommunications' Commission is telling the company to compete in a free market, but is also saying it will control its rates -- a tough task for any business, and an especially difficult one for a company which has high capital and reinvestment requirements.

The unions will argue that jobs are the important issue and will defend the principle of protecting jobs, even when a company may be run inefficiently, by allowing the company to charge whatever rate it chooses. That is not to say that BTC is necessarily run inefficiently.

On the other hand, consumers will be paying more, but not nearly as much as they could have been. In return, they may get poorer service and BTC may say it is unable to offer the kind of sophisticated facilities that the consumer has come to expect.

What does seem to be certain is that BTC has had time to prepare for free competition and has not met the challenge very effectively. The warning flags that overseas' interconnection rates would be falling have been up for several years, but BTC has only lowered the overseas' rates -- and looked to raise local rates -- under duress, instead of rebalancing them over a period of time.

Then, too, it has fought every move to open up domestic competition in the courts and in lengthy arguments with the Telecommunications' Commission. This is not to say that some of their arguments were without merit. Ultimately the courts will make that decision. But it does seem that the company could have used its time better. Now competition is here and BTC's reaction is that it should raise rates, even though that runs the risk of driving customers into the arms of its new rivals. That may not occur as BTC says it has been subsidising local calls for years, so presumably its competitors will be unable to offer lower rates and still make a profit.

On paper, the Commission's best recommendation is to have BTC provide a free emergency telephone service for the elderly and invalids. It is not clear how this would work, but it is a major concern that increased rates would bar some people from a potential lifeline. Some kind of emergency system should be considered.

Overall, the Commission has made a decision which seems to be good for the consumer, at least in the short term. Whether it will be good for the Country in the long run is another matter.