CUSTOMIZED YELLOW PAGES BEING TESTED

THE HARTFORD COURANT

Southern New England Telephone and The Courant are testing a new operator-assisted Yellow Pages service that will provide customized information as well as telephone numbers.

The test, which began Wednesday and will run through January, will involve 1,400 SNET customers in the Hartford area selected by a market research firm.

"The purpose of the trial is to find out what kind of customers are interested in the service," said Michael Amici, manager of new ventures for SNET Publishing. It will also test what customers are willing to pay for the information, he said.

The service is free initially. However, a charge may be introduced two to three months into the trial, Amici said.

To use the service, customers will call a telephone number that will connect them to specially trained SNET operators.

The operators will be able to search databases to help customers in search of business, entertainment or other information.

The Courant will contribute news and entertainment information and later in the trial, electronic classified advertisements.

"We're partnering in the test to see how consumers feel about getting information in this fashion," said Gene Tye, The Courant's director of electronic marketing.

"It will also test the newspaper's ability to work with the telephone company to provide information services to the marketplace," Tye said.

The trial is the first joint venture between SNET and The Courant, Tye said.

However, similar trials or services have been announced by BellSouth and Cox Communications, Pacific Telesis and the Los Angeles Times and NYNEX and Newsday.

The Courant, the Los Angeles Times and Newsday are all owned by Times Mirror Co.

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