Newly-established regional monopoly Bell Atlantic Corp said Wednesday that it is hiking the price of its local pay phones by from $0.25 to $0.35, a 40% increase, in New Hampshire, West Virginia, Virginia, Washington, DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Vermont. The company also says it will consider pay phone price increases in other markets as conditions warrant. Bell Atlantic says the move was made simply as a response to market conditions. The process of adjusting pay phones to the new rate will begin next week and will take several months to complete.
