Telecom: another deregulation scam ...

[j_b]

"Telecom regulation suffers the same fate as did the banks under the watch-less eye of the Federal Reserve and BP drilling in the Gulf of Mexico under the Minerals Management Service. No regulator has jurisdiction over the phone bill, particularly state Public Utility Commissions. No regulator has actually examined all the charges on the phone bills. Hiding behind the claim that industry deregulation has taken place over the last quarter century, regulators argue that there’s market “competition” that fixes everything.

 

This situation is likely to only get worse as further industry consolidation takes place and when the FCC’s introduces its new National Broadband plan. This plan is likely to raise customer telecom rates in five different ways. It will likely (i) increase the Universal Service fund tax is now 15.2 percent on all long distance calls (including wireless); (ii) increase the FCC Line Charge; (iii) increase local rates; (iv) add a new broadband tax, euphemistically dubbed the “Connect America” tax and (v) create a new “mobility” fund.

 

The telecom fiber optics upgrade rip-off is one of the great scams perpetrated against the American people. Much of the “deregulation” that has occurred has been done to alleged upgrade the old copper wiring with fiber optics. While Verizon and AT&T have rolled out some broadband upgrade, the estimated $320 billion collected since the 1990’s has not been spent on upgrading their respective networks.

 

According to the telecom’s industry’s most aggressive estimates, in 2009 approximately 15.1 million homes were “passed” (i.e., could access fiber) but only 4.4 million actually subscribed to fiber services. [RVA for the FTTH Council] And this is in a nation of 120 million households.

 

The billions so far charged to American telecom customers for these upgrades were based on promises to enhance Internet connectivity at schools, libraries and hospitals. Sadly, little of this promise has taken place since Al Gore promised the “information superhighway” nearly two decades ago. All that telecom customers can count on is seeing their bills steadily rise.

 

While the FCC is discussing reform, it’s clear it is unlikely to actually examine the companies receiving the money. Many of these telecoms uses these taxes and surcharges to fatten their balance sheets and don’t use the monies to improve customer services."

 

The Great Telecom Rip-off

[ScottP]

You seem upset.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

fund the important shit FIRST, you dipshit

[Nitrox]

Banking is a scam, oil is a scam, telecom is a scam...would you start a thread on what you consider not to be a scam?

 

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Banking is a scam, oil is a scam, telecom is a scam...would you start a thread on what you consider not to be a scam?

 

 

His whole life is spent wringing his hands about all the injustices of the world. Waaaaahh.

[j_b]

You seem upset.

 

If you aren't, you should be.

[Hugh Conway]

oh, I've made a decent part of my living off this scam.

 

right now you are paying former employers for this shit. enjoy!

[KaskadskyjKozak]

You seem upset.

 

If you aren't, you should be.

 

You need to get back on your meds

[j_b]

Banking is a scam, oil is a scam, telecom is a scam...would you start a thread on what you consider not to be a scam?

 

 

His whole life is spent wringing his hands about all the injustices of the world. Waaaaahh.

 

that's rich coming from someone who never lost a night of sleep over having enabled Bush and his cohorts of locusts.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Banking is a scam, oil is a scam, telecom is a scam...would you start a thread on what you consider not to be a scam?

 

 

His whole life is spent wringing his hands about all the injustices of the world. Waaaaahh.

 

that's rich coming from someone who never lost a night of sleep over having enabled Bush and his cohorts of locusts.

 

corporate shill regressive locusts!

 

so, how bad does your pussy hurt?

[j_b]

fuck off, retard.

[tvashtarkatena]

I think its safe to say we could all use more fiber.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

fuck off, retard.

 

that bad? poor baby.

[j_b]

You are boring and your comments certainly don't make you look very smart.

[kevbone]

This thread started off with hope. Then it went down hill with name calling and swearing. You guys sound like you are 16 year olds.

[Nitrox]

fuck off, retard.

 

[j_b]

This thread started off with hope. Then it went down hill with name calling and swearing. You guys sound like you are 16 year olds.

 

That's because their mental age is about 16 yo or so. They are only capable of reproducing the social interactions they had in high school where calling someone a "whiner" or a "pussy" is supposed to establish one's dominance. Moreover, they especially don't want anyone to talk about the deregulatory disasters caused by their sociopathic ideology so they'd rather have the thread devolve into a sausage fest.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

You are boring ...

 

 

[JoshK]

Private industry competition solves everything, just look at Seattle's options for broadband internet. One of the most advanced cities on Earth (supposedly), and you get a choice between a slew of substandard service options for absurdly high prices. I tried to cancel my Comcast cable TV a few months back but was informed my broadband price would go up (without the "package deal"...what a fucking scam!!) so I had to purchase the basic cable package (which I don't watch). My friend a few blocks away has been trying the Qworst DSL which he says is amazingly even worse. In good news, I went like 2 weeks between my last cable modem reboots, go go Comcast!

[kevbone]

Joshk. Throw your TV out the window and cancel your cable.

[billcoe]

Yes, lets go back to the old days of $15.00 a MIN. international calls to make any big goverment libruls happy I suppose.

[JoshK]

Joshk. Throw your TV out the window and cancel your cable.

 

Reading comp isn't your strong suit apparently...

 

[j_b]

why should liberals or the government want to go back to >20 year technology? Another straw-man from billcoe.

[JayB]

Private industry competition solves everything, just look at Seattle's options for broadband internet. One of the most advanced cities on Earth (supposedly), and you get a choice between a slew of substandard service options for absurdly high prices. I tried to cancel my Comcast cable TV a few months back but was informed my broadband price would go up (without the "package deal"...what a fucking scam!!) so I had to purchase the basic cable package (which I don't watch). My friend a few blocks away has been trying the Qworst DSL which he says is amazingly even worse. In good news, I went like 2 weeks between my last cable modem reboots, go go Comcast!

 

Local cable companies operate as government sanctioned cartels within Local Franchising Areas - no?

 

The reason they can offer you crappy service at high prices year after year and stay in business is because regulations insure that they're largely exempted from effective competition , not because there's too much of it.

 

Whenever you have someone in the private sector making notoriously crappy products or providing bad service year in and year out that mysteriously stays in business and/or preserves their market share, you've almost always got a private business using the government to insulate themselves from competition. Exhibit A: GM, Ford, and Chrysler - all of which should have been wiped off of the map 40 years ago, and would have if it weren't for the fact that they were able to hide behind a dense thicket of tarriffs, subsidies, and other impediments to competition.

 

 

[JayB]

why should liberals or the government want to go back to >20 year technology? Another straw-man from billcoe.

 

Yes - the same entrenched public-private cartel that objected to the use of answering machines on the grounds that users were adding a "foreign device," to the line, that insured long distance rates remained prohibitively expensive, mandated that customers lease phones directly from them, etc, etc, etc, for decades was on track to radically improve and transform telecommunications technology while exponentially reducing costs.

 

Haha.