TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Phone Customers Can Keep Number if They Switch Services: The state Public Utilities Commission ordered Pacific Bell and GTE California to let customers who switch to local phone companies keep their phone numbers, and it authorized transfer fees and monthly charges for the service. The two companies can charge competitors a one-time connection fee of $4.15 and a monthly fee between $1.94 and $2.29 for customers who keep their numbers. Competitors could either pass the charges on to customers or absorb the costs. Competition began in California’s $6-billion local phone market this year. PacBell, the main unit of San Francisco-based Pacific Telesis Group, and the unit of Stamford, Conn.-based GTE Corp. had sought higher fees.