Why didn’t you answer your phone?

The public telecommunications network that has developed in our country is truly an amazing high-tech feat. Your local provider, working with numerous other telecom carriers around the country, can usually complete your call to anywhere virtually without flaw or delay. But recently some problems have surfaced in rural Missouri and other areas of the country with callers experiencing long call set-up times, garbled voice reception, no dial tone or "dead air" when the call is answered.

Unfortunately most of these troubled calls never reach the public telecommunications network on the receiving end. Your local carrier, and the called party, are never aware that the call has been placed.

Industry experts and government regulators are investigating the problem and believe the cause lies in the way some calls are routed across the country and the technology that is used. It

If you experience this problem, please contact your local telecommunications provider and report the day and time of the trouble call, the number dialed and the problem experienced. Your local provider is working to correct the problem, and your help is greatly appreciated.

For more information contact Richard Telthorst at 573-634-2527

Well, unfortunately you are not alone. Callers around the country, especially in rural areas, are reporting problems with long distance calls that don’t seem to reach their intended destination. Your local telecommunications provider wants to solve the problem, but they need your help.’s a growing inconvenience and nuisance for rural residential and business callers, and of course poses a more serious threat for callers trying to reach police or other emergency services.