Idiocracy: FCC and Chairman Carr Claim Prices have been Going Down for the Last Decade.
Where Ideocracy Meets Idiocracy. —
Dear FCC: Prices on Virtually All Services have Continually Gone Up, Not Down. Just take out your wireless, broadband, internet, cable and phone bills, then please point to those ‘savings’.
The pictures above display some of the fundamental research and stories we have been highlighting about the price increases of services from AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless, Charter-Spectrum Cable TV triple play, the ‘junk fees’ applied to bills in multiple places on the same bill, data caps on our service usage, and comparisons with documented sources of overseas pricing for wireless and broadband. This should be like reading the Riot Act to the U.S.A. because there is no reason America is paying 5–10 times more for the same service.
And with the most recent announcement from Chairman Carr, called “Delete, Delete, Delete” Massive Deregulation of the FCC - we present a collection of information that clearly demonstrates that virtually all prices in America have been and are still going up.
Which calls into question the Delete plans as told by this FCC. If the FCC can’t even understand your bills and see that they are all increasing….
The IRREGULATORS have worked together on projects for decades. The auditing firm has gotten back millions in customer refunds, worked on multiple successful class action suit settlements for billing issues, and helped to get a few rural towns upgraded to fiber using existing laws and previous commitments.
Welcome to the New Idiocracy.
From testimony in Congress, to the dissent position taken during yet another round pertaining to Net Neutrality, Chairman Carr has been repeating the analysis that America’s communications prices went down.
The FCC’s Brendan Carr, when he was a commissioner, issued the following statement:
“New Data Confirm What Americans Already Know: The Internet Is Not Broken and President Biden’s Plan For Government Control Won’t “Fix It” The Biden Administration’s Plan Is Nothing More Than A Government Power Grab April 19, 2024.”
And what America ‘knows’ and the ‘reality’ of Carr, you can hear the peanut gallery, some laughing and some just shaking their head because nothing in this reality are facts or the truth.
Carr writes:
… “The reality? Broadband speeds increased, prices decreased, competition intensified, and years of record breaking infrastructure builds brought millions across the digital divide.
“Here is the latest data: Prices Are Down:
- “In real terms, the prices for Internet services have dropped by about 9% since the beginning of 2018, according to BLS CPI data.
- “On the mobile broadband side alone, real prices have dropped by roughly 18% since 2017, according to BLS and industry data.
- “And for the most popular broadband speed tiers, real prices are down 54%, and for the fastest broadband speed tiers, prices are down 55%, over the past 8 years, according to BLS and industry data.”
In his dissenting view of the Net Neutrality decision of April 2024, Carr wrote
“DISSENTING STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR
Re: Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet, Declaratory Ruling, Order, Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration, WC Docket Nos. 23–320, 17–108 (Apr. 25, 2024)
“And today’s Order is not about correcting a market failure. Broadband access is more vibrant and competitive than ever, no matter how you slice the reams of data. Americans benefited from lower prices, faster speeds, broader and deeper coverage, increased competition, and accelerated Internet builds.”
Lower prices? No. Competitive? No. And Real Prices? Stop laughing… prices went down, right?
WORKING WITH ALEC? DIRECT COPY IS NOT A COINCIDENCE
There is something that is truly insidious. In what is a eerie and disturbing clone of this Carr Dissenting view in April 2024, we found that ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, had identical statements using almost identical phrases and numbers in their “principles”.
The ties to using industry data for analyses that ultimately are being used to manipulate public policies has been happening throughout the FCC’s reports and decision making process.
There are laws that prevent the FCC from using biased data that skews the entire public process — it means the data is not “objective”, not “reliable”, and should not be used as the sole data presented to the public.
Ironically, the last Trump FCC with Ajit Pai and Carr, was ‘insightful’ and going to solve the “Digital Divide”; former chairman Rosenworcel, then Commissioner, tells a different tale.
Jessica Rosenworcel, during the pandemic, as a commissioner wrote:*(Re: GN Docket 19–285, 2020 Broadband Deployment Report.)
“This report is baffling:
“We are in the middle of a pandemic. So much of modern life has migrated online. As a result, it has become painfully clear there are too many people in the United States who lack access to broadband. In fact, if this crisis has revealed anything, it is the hard truth that the digital divide is very real and very big.
“But you’ll find no evidence acknowledging that in today’s Broadband Progress Report from the Federal Communications Commission. Instead, you’ll find a glowing assessment that all is well. According to this rosy report the nation’s broadband efforts are all good. They are proceeding in a reasonable and timely fashion, and they are reaching all Americans.
“This is just not right. Check the headlines decrying the lack of broadband in this country. Look at Congress.
“Making matters worse, the FCC relies on information submitted by providers without a system to independently verify the data. Last year, this allowed one company overstate its service coverage by tens of millions of people”
We will show that Chairman Brendan Carr analysis is flawed and is lacking the fundamental facts, and is a corporate inspired analysis.
Worth Repeating: Carr Wrote:
“New Data Confirm What Americans Already Know: The Internet Is Not Broken and President Biden’s Plan For Government Control Won’t “Fix It” The Biden Plan Is Nothing More Than A Government Power Grab — — April 19, 2024”
The current Carr as Chairman is not just doing a power grab but is completely dominated all aspects of telecom with the current “Delete, Delete, Delete’
==============================================
Datapoint After Datapoint: Terms, Conditions, Caveats, and What’s a “Real Price” ?
- We have just put together this series of stories that focus on not only actual communications bills over the last 2 decades, but also the specific details of the rate increases for wireless, broadband, internet, cable and phone services.
Every Service from every major provider, went UP, multiple times. Every tax, fee, surcharge and made up fee, went up, and some had ridiculous increases — Broadcast TV & Sport fee went up 1144%, and adds $28 a month on Spectrum cable, and even local wired services have had continuous increases for the last decade — 150% or more.
However, every state is different, but since these are all former Bell companies — and the original state Bell system utilities, really, the holding companies Verizon and AT&T have most of their states in alignment.
We add: there are always sales, promotions, stuffing of new accounts, and other items to get a discounted rate for usually a specific amount of time. But the promotional price can go up 150% after 1 year. as well as all of the taxes, fees and surcharges. So, those who point to a service, such as wireless, having deals, at the core, these are all new accounts, and with the promotional prices that will end.
The IRREGULATORS’ Definition of “Real Prices” is a charge on the customer’s bill and they pay i.
We are going to present and focus on ‘real prices’ and not some ideological FCC et al contrived information about their “real prices”.
Yet, Carr’s definition is “real terms” are some imaginary number based on the BLS CPI data. .
- “In real terms, the prices for Internet services have dropped by about 9% since the beginning of 2018, according to BLS CPI data.
- On the mobile broadband side alone, real prices have dropped by roughly 18% since 2017, according to BLS and industry data.
What do we have? Carr’s “real” prices, are not the actual price but some mathematical fabrication by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and “Industry Data”. The BLS CPI does adjust for inflation, for example, but at the core:
- BLS does not collect and survey actual bills.
- BLS uses a combo platter that includes the web site info — which never includes all of the taxes, fees and surcharges.
- It doesn’t deal with small businesses, which is often “work at home” customers. In 2024, the Small Business Administration, (SBA) claimed about 50% of all small businesses, which is around 15 million, are home-based.
Real Price Vs a Value Proposition — With Holes.
Carr’s analysis is a ‘value’ proposition and has nothing to do with the actual price on the bills. I.e., what the customer gets for the price paid — the “bang for the buck’; but this involves some concoction that then adjusts the storyline to the Carr ideocracy framing of ‘real price’.
For example, local phone rates have been going up continuously, known as harvesting, but the actual costs to offer local service has been in steep decline — through cutting staff and even basic repairs are not being done. Yet, it gets worse when one examines the fact the state telecom utilities raised rates for fiber optic upgrades that never happened in most rural areas. And this model also doubled down and charged local phone customers for wires that were put in via the utility construction budgets for wireless. In some states, the CPI is used to trigger these rate increases without audits or examinations of the original laws.
If the major expenses for offering a service have been cut, then the prices of US local rates should have declined and the FCC nor the BLS ever adjusted or examined these fundamentals of America’s local service provisioning.
In short CPI is inflation, but if the actual costs for the service goes down then the prices a customer pays is getting less value for the money — prices are going up.
The are other problems with Chairman Carr’s claims. He states that Competition is lowering the prices — which, when held up to a mirror shows that if prices are continually going up, competition does not exist or has no affect to lower rates.
We will return to these issues in upcoming stories. We will now focus on the rest of the story of the real prices of service — the price on your bills that you pay — in the US for voice, video, data and broadband access, services.
WARNING: Please take any required medications for high blood pressure.
First let us summarize the multiple moving parts we have uncovered.
Here’s proof that prices have keep going up on all services, and that the Idiocracy. is heading into full swing with the new project “Delete, Delete, Delete.
SUMMARY: This is a list of what we examined over the last 10 separate stories. The list is followed with a longer discussion and charts, and there is a link to the full story as well.
- AT&T wireless plans all went up, year after year.
- Verizon wireless plans all went up year after year. Verizon told investors it had 4 major “Rate-Ups” in 2024
- Harvesting: Wireline residential and business all went up. AT&T CA, which is the state telecommunications public utility has been “harvesting” wireline customers with continuous rate increases, and this has been happening over the last decade in virtually every state.
- Rate increases on small businesses and Ramming: Verizon NJ, also a state public telecommunications utility, had state laws changed to use the extra money that was intended for building out fiber to the homes, and instead all of there have been continuous rate increases, even on small businesses.
- RAMMING: Audits of bills showed that many customers were put on a package called Custopak without their permission.
- Cable TV and Triple Play — Prices. US average was $220 a month in 2021.
- Overseas Broadband and Triple Play — Price of a triple play overseas averaged $35-$45 a month;
- US Wireless vs Overseas: In France, Free Telecom offers a wireless service is only about $20 bucks, and it comes with 350 gigs.
- In NYC, Spectrum has a wireless plan where it costs $14.00 per GB, not counting the taxes, fees and surcharges — and the total is about $17–20 bucks. 1 GIG — $14. (without tax) vs 350 gigs also for about $20. bucks.
- Data Caps and Lack of Competition Report — Comments filed at FCC — There is no serious competition in the US for wireless as there are only 3 primary carriers, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, All of the other wireless providers are resellers. And all of the companies have data caps to block heavy usage of the networks.
- Junk Fees Analysis and Reports and Complaint Filed. The “Cost Recovery” fee is on an estimated 350 million bills, and it is made up of charges that are either being already billed to just plain made-up.
How much extra have we all been charged for all of these items?
Some of the Details and Links to the Other Tales of Overcharging
It appears every AT&T Internet, TV service, broadband service, wireless service, including FirstNet all had multiple increases over the last 5 years. This is a partial list that goes on for another page — see the story.
(See article for the previous years and the increases.)
===Verizon Wireless Increases in 2024 and in 2025.
“We had four major price-ups in 2024, we’ve had two in 2025, because we are delivering more value to our customers, and they feel very comfortable with our price structure.”
The Street just wrote that Verizon has had a slew of rate increases in 2024, and more to come. Some excerpts:
“Verizon increased prices for its wireless services multiple times last year. Most notably, in March, it raised the monthly price of its 5G Start, 5G Play More, 5G Get More, and 5G Do More unlimited mobile plans by $4.
“By December, it increased its monthly Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge for mobile users by $0.20 per line.
“Also, just last month, Verizon hiked monthly prices for wireless customers who have my Plan and New Verizon Plan accounts due to “rising operational costs.”
“Verizon makes another bold move
“Now, it appears that Verizon’s wireless customers will have to brace themselves for another round of price increases that will soon take effect.
“According to a new brochure added to Verizon’s website, it revealed that the monthly price for its Verizon Mobile Protect Multi-Device plan for customers who have four to 20 lines will increase from $60 to $68, effective March 27.”
But the kicker is, Verizon told investors that there were 4 increases in just 2024. This is what Verizon said as reported by the Street.
“We had four major price-ups in 2024, we’ve had two in 2025, because we are delivering more value to our customers, and they feel very comfortable with our price structure,”
Thus, by their own admission, Verizon’s prices did not go down, and they even made this clear to the investors.
3) Harvesting: AT&T and the other Telcos have been Harvesting their wired customers — I.e., continuous rate increases on basic wireline services. This has been violating every fair and reasonable statute.
EXAMPLE: The state utilities have been ‘harvesting’ customers. The FCC failed to address any of our concerns for the last 2 decades.
- Not one FCC docket or proceeding has ever seriously addressed “harvesting”, or any other serious billing issue, such as ‘ramming’, where the subsidiary as been adding feels that were not authorized.)
- This California Public Utility Commission report detailed the massive continuous rate increases imposed on wireline customers. This happened in virtually every state to varying degrees.
From: “AT&T CORPORATE AND CALIFORNIA FINANCIALS AND ILEC INVESTMENT POLICIES: PHASE 2 UPDATE”
- 153% rate increases. “AT&T CA has raised its rates for legacy flat-rate residential service by 152.6% since the service was de-tariffed by the CPUC in 2009.”
- This succession of rate increases is consistent with and in support of a “harvesting” strategy aimed at maximizing revenues from existing customers until they ultimately discontinue their service.
- “AT&T senior management’s interest in and attention to its legacy wireline ILEC Operations has been subordinated to its wireless operations.”
AT&T’s strategy has been to practice this in all of its 21 states. AT&T CA prices went up 150% or more, but this doesn’t include the 250%+ increases on the ancillary services, such as inside wire maintenance or calling features, like Caller ID. And this activity is the dismantling of the telecommunications infrastructure by using it, not for upgrades of the state utility, but for the other services like wireless.
These examples of AT&T clearly show rates are increasing not decreasing.
Meanwhile, the BLS CPI has been in need of repair for 3 decades.
4) Wireline Small Business Scandal — Rate Increases to Ramming — Customers have been put on packages of service they do not need, want or even can use, and all with continuous rate increases.
Major Rate Increases on Small Business Wired Services — Up 133% in New Jersey.
Tom Allibone, Director of Telecom Audits for the IRREGULATORS: “Hogwash. The FCC and other authorities are claiming that the rates have gone down and to illustrate that this is just a made-up fiction of bad analysis, here is an example. The prices didn’t just go up. This chart shows the basic service while addons have had increases of 50–250%.
“At the same time, many small business customers have been Rammed, where they are put on a package they did not order and the extra service was added by the subsidiary, or other lines of business. We found this problem on everything from added inside wire maintenance to long distance packagesl The FCC has ignored our work and calls for audits for over 2 decades”
- Taxes, fees and surcharges have made the prices unjust and unreasonable.
Prices DID NOT GO DOWN and the taxes, fees and surcharges that are attached to these products and services ALL went UP.
- Universal Service Fund Taxes have had continuous increases. — now 36.3%
The basic phone service bills also show another disturbing fact: Universal Service Fund tax is now 36.3% — this is more than the mob charges on the ‘vic’ in the movies… and it is applied on interstate classified charges, and it was only 8.7% in 2005. And all interstate services, including wireless calling, have a USF tax being applied.
- The Broadcast and Sports Slush Fund Junk Fee — Price went up 1,144% since 2014 for Spectrum NY.
We’ve been tracking this charge, which is actually 2 charges that was (merged n mant?)locations, but with over 1000% increases, and the FCC failure to examine the actual costs of this service and come up with alternatives, this one charge when from $2.25 to $28.00 in February 2025 — with the caveat that this is also hit with taxes, fees and surcharges not easily identifiable.
This charge is not included in the advertised price, and there are other taxes, fees and surcharges applied.
§ Why Are Overseas Communications Prices, from Wireless to Broadband, a Fraction of what We Are Charged in America?
We have been tracking overseas prices for decades, and during the pandemic, the shift that happened refocused us on just how outrageous the US prices are as compared to overseas
In summary, the graphic chat above shows that in the US a Broadband triple play with wireless could be over $320, while here, in this French offering, the prices only $40–50 a month.
How is this possible? I don’t know where you are or who you are, but any rational analysis of these 2 offerings clearly shows that the US should be immediately investigating how is this price differential possilble?
The wireless service is only about $20 bucks, and it comes with 350 gigs. Spectrum has a wireless plan where it costs $14.00 per GB, not counting the taxes, fees and surcharges — and the total is about $17–20 bucks. 1 GIG — $14. (without tax) vs 350 gigs also for about $20. bucks.
The “broadcast fee at $28 a month, then is a total screw America — Chairman Carr, can you explain this to us and the rest of the US?
§ “No Gimmicks” America Is Getting Screwed. The Free French Telecom Fiber Optic Triple Play vs Spectrum-NYC Prices.
- Part 1: Examined the pricing overseas, and specifically based on communications bills we received from a senior American couple living in France. They are paying 29.99 Euros for a Triple Play (cable TV, phone, and broadband internet) at a speed of 5 GBPS over a fiber optic to the home connection. After a year it goes to 39.99 Euros, about $44 dollars. We compared that bill to the current Spectrum-Charter New York City December 2023 bill which is for $225 with no frills or pay movie services. It is just basic service.
This is the second story: The column on the right is what America is paying, read being overcharged on fees, taxes, surcharges and made-up items that are just revenue to the companies, and on top of that the customers are paying the companies’ taxes and expenses that are ‘pass-throughs’ — i.e., Spectrum, et al have been able to have their taxes and fees paid for by their customers. Equipment that is required to use their services, such as the set top box for the cable TV and was originally part of the cable TV service became ‘deregulated’, meaning “what was free, the subscriber now has to pay for”.
§ IRREGULATORS Complaint to the FTC: Remove All Cost Recovery Junk Fees on 350 Million AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile Wireless Connections, $15 Billion Annually- to Start
In examining the additional made-up fees that have become the dirty little secret of America’s communications bills, We found that America is being gouged over $15 billion dollars on just the Cost Recovery Charge, which is actually a garbage pail to put whatever expenses the company can get away with.
This one charge has ‘reimbursement’ for every service imaginable, from money for E911 or federal Universal service to wireless tower mandates — and all of these are either the cost of doing business or the company is already getting compensated for the item and there are no audits or investigations of a charge that is about $4.00 added but is on 350 million lines that can include wristwatches or laptops and is estimated at $15 billion.
This is a picture of the Comcast NY 2011 and 2012 financial annual report info showing obscene profit margins. All of this information has been redacted in 2024, and one would think that if DOGE would want to go through these and the other financials and all of what we just presented it would get rid of the burdens of not having accurate data to do basic analysis answering the question — why are America’s prices so much higher compared to oveseas services?
