Giving the world a hand since February 3rd, 2002. "If you're gonna dine with them cannibals, sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten."




Comments by YACCS

 
MONEY TALKS

Administration Sides With Bells on Lease Discounts for Rivals

Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the leasing at discount of equipment for telephony was one of the keystones to promote "competition". The Baby Bells own all of the infrastructure that carry calls over land lines. In order for a non-Baby Bell to compete, they would have to use equipment leased to them by the Bells. Now, the BB's don't wanna play anymore. They're taking their cheap toys back. And the Administration is allowing them.

Aren't the Republicanistas the party of laisse faire economics?

Ahhh, but wait. Here's the money quote:

Rivals of the Bells have threatened the administration that they intend to run television advertisements in swing political states accusing the White House of being responsible for higher telephone rates. For their part, the Bell companies have pledged not to raise rates before the November elections (emphasis added).

Notice that the Bells didn't deny that they're going to screw their competition, just that they'd wait until after it couldn't be used as a weapon against them.

Also, didn't Dubya recently do the same type of deal with the Saudis? In that case, though, the Saudis promised to lower oil prices just in time for the election. Not that they were manipulating the markets for political gain. *snort*

(...) Both sides agree that if the Supreme Court does not alter the appeals decision, it would have the effect of repealing a central tenet of the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996.

The act requires the Bell companies, which have long been accused of holding near-monopoly positions in local markets, of leasing valuable pieces of their networks at low rates to both small and large competitors including AT&T and MCI so that those companies could introduce some measure of competition.

In effect, this means that in order to simply compete with the Baby Bells, other companies would have to charge higher rates--maybe even higher than the Bells offer for their services. "Deregulation will foster competition, thereby lowering prices", indeed.

Obviously, money talks. Too bad the bullshit won't walk until after the election.


so wrote Leper around about 3:16 PM