Corroborates IRREGULATORS Call to Investigate Billions of Cross Subsidies.
Over the last few weeks, a senior citizen named Aaron Epstein defied the odds. He was so frustrated with his old copper based DSL service and not having a high-speed fiber connection from AT&T California that he took out ads in the WSJ for a hefty $10 grand — and in days, he had humiliated AT&T into connecting him to their AT&T Fiber service.
But what about the other 17.8 million residential customers in AT&T California territory or the 70+ million in the 21 states where AT&T controls the largest public telecommunications utilities in each state?
You probably didn’t know…
The real question is — How many Wall Street Journal ads will it take to get fiber optic to the home service from AT&T for California, much less AT&T’s 21 states?
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At recent investor meetings for their 4th quarter results and plans for 2021, Verizon Communications, Inc. has tried to not only cover over basic results with confusing findings, but has also failed to make basic disclosures, including the fact that most of Verizon’s wireline networks are actually wired, state-based public telecommunications utilities, and that these networks are deteriorating. Worse, the utility construction expenditures that should have been used for fiber optic upgrades to cities, rural areas and inner cities, have instead been subsidizing their wireless business.
Note: These results are for Verizon Communications Inc., the holding company that controls the…
FACT SHEET 3: (PDF 2 PAGE) AMERICA’S WIRELESS SERVICE PRICES ARE 5–20 TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN OVERSEAS.
- Overseas, wireless “truly unlimited” means over 1000 GB for $35 bucks.
- US big “unlimited” plans are just deceptive and are capped, usually 50 GB.
- On these plans, America has been overcharged over $50 a month.
- Price per GB for unlimited plans in America $1.65; Overseas it is 7 cents.
AT&T, Verizon and the other wireless carriers, with the help of the FCC, have not only figured out how to keep prices for wireless services ‘hyper-overcharged’ as compared to most of the rest of…
Why is America being seriously hyper-overcharged?
- FACT SHEET (2 page PDF): US Triple Play (broadband, phone, and cable TV) is overcharged, on average, $170.00 per month, or more, compared to Europe.
- US average price per month is $217.00, according to Consumer Reports.
- Average triple play price per month is $24-$ 47 dollars, according to the European Union.
The Digital Divide was created, in large part, because prices are no longer affordable and large areas of the US have little, if any, competition. The United States should be on par with pricing of communications services throughout the world. …
FACT SHEET- PDF 2 Page Version
Broadcast TV and Sports Programming Fee went up 751% to $19.15 a month on a basic Spectrum Brooklyn, (Nov. 2020) Triple Play from $2.25 only 6 years ago.
This is the first in a series to detail the consumer harms and why a Big Telecom-Big Cable antitrust case is necessary.
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On January 11th, 2021 the IRREGULATORS gave testimony in front of the NYC Franchise and Concession Review Committee Public Hearing January 11, 2021.
Click for an abridged version of the testimony. As we pointed out, the New York City cable franchises for Spectrum (Charter), Optimum (Altice) and Verizon FiOS have all expired.
To be very blunt, NYC should not renew any of the current cable franchises that have expired and it should start with a real change — a clean sweep — to address the actual problems with NYC and NY State’s telecommunications and cable company services. …
This shows New York State’s broadband availability based on the FCC’s data on the left side vs the right side supplied by Microsoft. Governor Cuomo has been quoting and using the FCC’s damaged statistics showing broadband is available in 98% of New York State, yet Microsoft is showing only 54.6% has access to high-speed broadband; some areas have as low as 25% coverage, and there is ample examples that the lower numbers are more accurate.
About Reimagine NY Commission:
“The Reimagine New York Commission aims to develop real solutions to build back better in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic…
To be very blunt, NYC should not renew any of the current cable franchises that have expired and it should start with a real change — a clean sweep — to address the actual problems with NYC and NY State’s telecommunications and cable company services; These issues have been here for decades, but they are a political hot potato and ignored.
And, this is not just about cable TV or broadband but the price of your wireless service, and solving the Digital Divide, once and for all.
All of the NYC cable franchises have expired in July 2020.
“DoITT is…
Yet, billions of dollars are still on the table. The next step is to halt the cross-subsidies that could be used to fund upgrades throughout the state, bring in serious competition and to lower prices on all services.
On September 24th, 2020, the IRREGULATORS sent NYC Mayor de Blasio 2 letters.
The first letter requested that the Mayor hold Verizon accountable to provide to 100% of New York City’s households Verizon’s FiOS fiber to the premises (FTTP) cable and broadband service.
As we pointed out, Verizon had an obligation under their NYC franchise to have FiOS…
Forget Big Tech: Break Up Big Telecom, then Big Cable.
While the “FTC” (“Federal Trade Commission”, as opposed to the “FCC”, the “Federal Communications Commission”) and Attorney General offices around the US are actively going after Facebook, and there are other cases against Amazon or Google, claiming they are “Big Tech” and harming America, all of these services ride on the wires or airwaves that are mostly controlled by just a few companies: “Big Telecom”, AT&T, Verizon & CenturyLink, and “Big Cable”, Comcast & Charter.
But, going after Big Telecom is a problem because they rewrote history and blanketed the…
bruce kushnick
New Networks Institute,Executive Director, & Founding Member, IRREGULATORS; Telecom analyst for 38 years, and I have been playing the piano for 63 years.
