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For many local businesses, the White Pages are about to get thousands of pounds lighter.
This month, Bell is unveiling a new CD-ROM version of the directory. It will allow large companies to give their employees desktop access to the White Pages without all the hassle. Over the next year, Bell expects the initiative to reduce its printed copies by more than 31,000 while increasing the net circulation of the information by more than 25 percent
And they'll be a whole lot easier to carry
Each June, Cincinnati Bell delivers its phone books to area businesses on 2,300-pound skids holding 450 books each. Companies must then find a way to distribute the massive quantities of books and recycle the old versions.
Local businesses and government agencies that commit to reducing their shipment of printed directories by 100 copies or more can receive a copy of the electronic White Pages. The program is not available to residenual customers.
Requests from large business customers prompted Bell to look for a way to distribute the White Pages electronically. It has been testing the CD-ROM version at a handful of $1 million to begin with.
Money managers say they are careful not to promise such returns to the new wave, which have already begun making inquiries.
'We target a 10 percent (annual) net return for P&G retirees on their money," said Dan Kiley, president of Retirement Capital Advisors, a Blue Ash-based money management firm that focuses its entire business on helping P&G employees manage their profitsharing trust accounts when they retire. The 16-year-old company manages about $480 millibon in assets for some 500 P&G families.
"If the return is better than 10 percent, as it has been the last few years, thats fine," Kiley said. "I believe there are still some great opportunities in the market."
Even with the...