How the Phone Companies Are Screwing America: The $320 Billion Broadband Rip-Off

[marmar]

AlterNet / By David Rosen and David Kushnick

How the Phone Companies Are Screwing America: The $320 Billion Broadband Rip-Off
Americans are stuck with an inferior and overpriced communications system, compared with the rest of the world, and we're being ripped off in the process.

October 7, 2010 |


Since 1991, the telecom companies have pocketed an estimated $320 billion --- that's about $3,000 per household.

This is a conservative estimate of the wide-scale plunder that includes monies garnered from hidden rate hikes, depreciation allowances, write-offs and other schemes. Ironically, in 2009, the FCC's National Broadband plan claimed it will cost about $350 billion to fully upgrade America's infrastructure.

The principal consequence of the great broadband con is not only that Americans are stuck with an inferior and overpriced communications system, but the nation's global economic competitiveness has been undermined.

In a June 2010 report, Europe's Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranked the U.S. 15th on broadband subscribers with 24.6 percent penetration; the consulting group, Strategy Analytics, is even more pessimistic, ranking the U.S. 20th with a "broadband" penetration rate of 67 percent compared to South Korea (95 percent), Netherlands (85 percent) and Canada (76 percent). Making matters worse, Strategy Analytics projects the U.S. ranking falling to 23rd by year-end 2010.

But these are just overall statistics. Today, people in Japan, Korea, Europe and other countries get broadband services that are 100-mbps services in both directions for what we pay for inferior, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber line (ADSL), while in Hong Kong companies have started to offer 1-gigabit speeds.* ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/media/148397/how_the_phone_companies_are_screwing_america%3A_the_%24320_billion_broadband_rip-off/

[Sherman A1]

1. Screwed by the phone companies?

What a surprise...... NOT!

Thanks for posting!

[Scuba]

2. But I thought the capitalist approach was always best. We're only 15th?

And there's socialists ahead of us!!!

[Cal33]

3. Almost all the big corporations are screwing America, Those

that have not yet done so, are probably thinking of how to do it. This
is because the psychopathic junior executives of corporations are those
who have no compunction of making more money for their companies by hook
and by crook. Since they make more money for their companies, they are
the ones with the best chances of getting promoted up the corporate ladder.

Generally speaking, the higher up the corporate executive ladder, the
higher also the percentage of psychopaths among the members.

That's why we have the financial chaos we are having today. Too many sick
people holding positions of responsibility.

What chances of surviving does our nation have with so many Al Capones in
high places? Will it be possible for our country to have any future at all?