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from: Reason

Is Telecom’s Future The Bells, the Bells, and Only the Bells?

December 5, 2001
By James K. Glassman

Where’s the competition? Nearly five years after passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, it’s fading out of sight.

In long distance, competition is hotter than ever. Consumers are getting huge breaks on their national and international long-distance calls. Price pressures have reduced profits, spurred a 60 percent decline in stock prices for long-distance companies and forced major carriers AT&T and MCI/WorldCom to restructure.

from: IP Business

20 Years of Competition: Nobody Beats the Bells

By Gary Kim

After more than 20 years of steadily-increasing competition in the U.S. communications market, one trend is clear: though many things have changed, incumbents continue to dominate the business. Despite line losses, leading U.S. telcos have managed to keep revenue growing. And momentum in the U.S. VoIP industry has swung decidedly to the U.S. cable industry.

from: IP Business

20 Years of Competition: Nobody Beats the Bells

By Gary Kim

After more than 20 years of steadily-increasing competition in the U.S. communications market, one trend is clear: though many things have changed, incumbents continue to dominate the business. Despite line losses, leading U.S. telcos have managed to keep revenue growing. And momentum in the U.S. VoIP industry has swung decidedly to the U.S. cable industry.

from: Broadcasting and Cable

Cities Weigh In Against Franchise Changes
Battle Over Regulating Local Franchise Authories Brews

by John Eggerton
10/5/2007 11:18:00 AM

"An order federalizing the franchising process cannot stand."

That was essentially the message from the Alliance for Community Media, which represents a number of localities -- including the cities of Los Angeles; Chicago; Boston; Tampa, Fla.; and Milwaukee and the New York villages of Larchmont and Mamaroneck -- in their court challenge to Federal Communications Commissioin changes to video-franchise rules.

from: Neiman Watchdog

Corporate-funded research designed to influence public policy

COMMENTARY | October 01, 2007

Reports by well-known think tanks and individuals funded by telecoms are helping quash competition, increase phone rates and set up a corporate-oriented Internet system. Is there any reason to trust these reports? Or to trust experts who testify before regulators without revealing the sources of their funding?

Note: This report riddled with inaccuracies and misleading conclusions is from one of our favorite astroturf think tanks. Heartland provides the industries that fund their 'research' with persuasive reports for misleading legislators.
from: Heartland Institute

Opponents Slow Video Franchise Reforms

Note: Another case of Telcos behaving badly - in this case to get out from under regulated price caps on business service. With all the talk of the need for faster and more widespread broadband build-out to facilitate struggling local economies - this should help immensely.

from: National Journal

Note: This is off topic in a way, but useful information since most consumer complaints relate to either cable or telephone companies (or both). And you could, say, target AT&T with questions about why they are selling out your consumer loyalty (however misplaced) to the NSA (this also applies to Verizon hostages as well). Also check the comments from the source link below - some enlightening twists to the this particular approach to social engineering.

from: The Consumerist

How To Launch An Executive Email Carpet Bomb

Here's a classic tactic for rattling the corporate monkey tree to make sure your complaint gets shoved under the nose of someone with decision-making powers. Let's call it the "EECB," or Executive Email Carpet Bomb...

Note: As the FCC and many states rush to give the telcos favorable video franchising legislation, we still wonder why consumers (i.e citizens) would want to receive phone, data and video services from companies that they know can monitor and provide government agencies with surveillance information on their phone/data activities and TV viewing habits.

from: NewsWeek

from: Newsday.com

Your loss of privacy is a package deal

David Lazarus
Consumer Confidential
September 12, 2007

The all-you-can-eat packages of voice, video and Internet services offered by phone and cable companies may be convenient, but they represent a potentially significant threat to people's privacy.