I've seen the future. I can't afford it - How to be a Zillionaire!
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Calls to break up of the US telecoms get louder
OPPOSITION to the giant US telecoms is growing with calls surfacing to break them up.
A damning report at Alternet outlines just how bad the situation is for Americans, with many not having any choice about which telecom company, cable television operator or internet service provider they have access to. In the case of wireless connectivity, the report cites that the two main operators, AT&T and Verizon, control 80 per cent of all wireless mobile services in the US.
With AT&T announcing its intention to buy T-Mobile, it's not surprising Alternet reports that AT&T has initiated bandwidth usage caps and proposed major rate increases for high-volume broadband users. What Alternet suggests is that telecoms operators should be forced to separate their fixed line and wireless operations and that cable companies such as Comcast should not be allowed to own media companies or vice versa.
But you might ask, what about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)? Yesterday Meredith Baker, a member of the FCC, the supposedly independent government watchdog over the telecoms industries, walked out and joined Comcast. Just a few months earlier she voted in favour of allowing Comcast to buy NBC Universal, one of the largest US television networks and media content companies.
The concern is that with Comcast controlling a major television network, it will favour access to NBC Universal content over that of its rivals. Rival telecoms operators might retaliate in a similar manner, leading to the disappearance of anything resembling net neutrality and ultimately changing the internet into a barren wasteland for users in the US.
Alternet's proposals aim to regenerate competition in the US telecoms industry. At present, it claims, lack of competition means that telecoms companies are able to run roughshod over consumers.
It is a claim that most Americans will probably agree with, however as Baker's walk through the revolving door between US government posts and giant corporations has shown, telecoms companies have friends in high places that will help them resist any meaningful change to the status quo. µ
Tags: Hardware
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I agree that the wired and wireless pricing system is out of control. We FINALLY got unlimited programs a few years back, and now, instead of the companies competing the prices down from $100/mo to the $40/mo range, they're looking to revert backwards to minutes, etc... garbage... one thing that might help is if consumers were allowed to take their phones to whatever carrier they wanted to...
I'm not sure the buying of the content thing is a big deal... it's only inevitable that some sort of internet delivery system for "television" programming will be the future. When the traditional "cable" delivery system becomes completely obsolete, NBC Universal, HBO, etc, will just be another YouTube, Hulu, Vimeo, or a virtual "channel" on one of those types of deals...
I pay $150/month for 2 cell phones, with basic voicemail/callerid. one has 5gb data the other has 500mb data. they have free calling/text messaging to 5 numbers and a few minutes, maybe 250 on the one and 150 on the other. And one phone has unlimited text messaging.
In my area there is only one choice for cable and one choice for dsl. And about 3 choices for cellular. Recently there's been a couple new mobile players, but they don't have good coverage maps or they don't have any phones I'd want.
MY FIXED LAND LINE BURNS ME FOR $20 A MONTH. FRIGGIN MONOPOLY. I EARN $110,000 PER YEAR BUT THERE'S NO WAY I WILL EVER AFFORD A CELLPHONE - IT'S RIDICULOUS!
ACTUALLY MY WORK BOUGHT ME A BLACKBERRY AND PAYS FOR ITS FEES, UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE NO USE FOR THE DAMN THING. I AM CONSTANTLY LOSING IT OR LETTING ITS BATTERY RUN DEAD. I SHOULD JUST LEAVE IT PLUGGED IN AT MY DESK, THEN AT LEAST IT'LL STAY CHARGED UP AND I'LL KNOW WHERE THE DAMN THING IS.
The problem with your line of reasoning is that the same company that delivers television delivers internet. When you vote with your wallet and stop watching TV (turning instead to the content made freely for sites like YouTube), you use the other service more heavily. So bandwidth caps/charges are imposed, not because the network can't handle your additional demand, but because you are now paying them less.
I expect that once it's all done phase 2 will commence, suing youtubers for using their 'patented ideas, like showing imagery of pets' and such.
And the frustrating thing is that the goddamn euro-dweebs that are known as politicians will of course try to emulate it all, because as we know from the bush years their biggest almost orgasmic admiration is for applied fascism US-style, but they are slightly timid still about admitting it so they need and long for that push and excuse.
Get a friggin' life and shut off the TV. If you don't like what you pay, tehn disconnect. Vote with your wallet you moron - if enough people did, the prices would come down. Until then, quit your lifeless b1tch session.
In eastern europe:
For a 2 phone family account I pay $30 a month, 1000 minutes inside the network 160 minutes anywhere, no texts ($8 per month for 200), 50Mb data . For Cable internet, TV and cable phone I pay $35 per month (50Mbit), that is with all offered premium channels. Where I live there are 4 alternative cell phone providers and 2 alternative cable TV providers.
Must suck to live in the US.
The lawless is toothess and useless in the country just like big chief Sitting Bull, so what you maggots, eat this! How much money must we pay back on this war for rebuilding the Middle East? How many times do we get disconnected daily for this maggot banquet. How much money is it stealing from other industries? America sucks where it counts most!
For a 2 phone family account I pay $80 a month, 700 minutes, no texts (25c each or $10 unlimited per month), no data ($30 a month for 5 Gb). For Cable internet, TV and cable phone I pay $200 per month, that is without any premium channels. Where I live there is no alternative cell phone provider and the only alternative to cable TV is satellite for you guessed it the same price. Whole friggin country is run by monopolies and cartels.