Barnes v. Ark. Public Service Comm.

Neill Bohlinger, Associate Justice.

This case involves the furnishing of telephone service to an area involving about fifteen (15) square miles in the northeast corner of Conway County which community is known as the Austin Community. The two applicants for authority to provide service were the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company which will herein be referred to as Bell, and the Arkansas Telephone Company which will be referred to as Arkansas.

On July 21, 1960, the Arkansas Public Service Commission, in a proceeding initiated by Bell, allocated this area to Bell. Bell’s proposal for supplying…