From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Fri Jan 12 2001 - 13:20:58 MST
From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <mlorrey@datamann.com>
>>Brian D Williams wrote:
>
>> I've tried but since given up trying to explain telephone
>> deregulation to people. People keep asking me, "When is there
>>going to be competition." I explain that I hook up 2 to 3
>>"competitors" a day, for the last three years. But the fact is
>>that residential phone service has always been subsidized by
>>business, so nobody is .interested in offering residential
>>service, but competitors abound in the business market.
>
>> This will (and has) led to a deterioration in the residential
>> service market, and will eventually lead to HIGHER prices as the
>> revenue subsidy drys up.
>
>> They were sold a bill of goods, and bought every word.
>Residential local service was always subsidized by long distance
>charges. Now that interstate long distance companies are free of
>this, your residential local service is subsidized by in-state
>long distance, which still ranges from $0.20-0.39 /minute, which
>kinda stinks if your computer gets smart and decides to call an
>in-state long distance number for your internet access if it can't
>get through locally... or if the ISP gives you a number claiming
>its local when its not (they got me that way last year: $1200 in
>a month before I got my bill...)
Disclaimer: My opinions are my own, I do not speak for
SBC/Ameritech
We're not allowed to do any long distance, not even interstate, we
have to by law use another carrier for anything beyond about 12
miles or so depending on area. We have to use another carrier to
reach our own headquarters 20 miles away. Unbelievable!
Heres the fun part, say you live in Chicago, you pay a basic
service charge of $5.98 or so. It costs us about a dollar less or
so to provide service so say we make a buck. Now say you live in
Barrington you pay $13.98 or so for basic service. Now get this, it
costs us something like 3 times that amount to provide that
service, the difference comes out of those dollars we make in
Chicago, and business accounts, which pay more.
>I say jack up the prices, make people pay for what they are
>getting, then they'll demand something better, and someone will be
>willing to give it to them.
You're obviously not a politician. ;) Back in 1991 I was part of a
program who's stated goal was to put fiber in every Ameritech
home/business by the year 2000. Then the long distance companies,
cable companies, state and federal regulators, and CUB (citizens
utility board) got wind of it and when they were done legislating,
it wasn't profitable for us as a corporation to build.
The future? if we ever get permission to do long distance, I
predict flat rate pricing.
Brian
Member:
Extropy Institute, www.extropy.org
Adler Planetarium www.adlerplanetarium.org
Life Extension Foundation, www.lef.org
National Rifle Association, www.nra.org, 1.800.672.3888
Ameritech Data Center Chicago, IL, Local 134 I.B.E.W
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