How
The Bell
Mergers Killed Off The Fiber Optic Deployments And
Competition.
From
$200
Billion Broadband Scandal
- SBC is
the merged companies of Pacific Telesis, SNET, Ameritech
and Southwestern Bell.
Then SBC merged with AT&T and kept the name.
- Verizon is Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and GTE. Verizon then bought MCI.
Verizon
and SBC Fiber Optic Broadband Spending and Households
|
|
Money
(billions)
|
Households
|
Merger
|
Shutdown
|
|
SBC
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pacific
Telesis
|
$16.0
|
5,500,000
|
1997
|
1997
|
|
Ameritech
(3states)
|
$6.6
|
6,000,000
|
1999
|
2000
|
|
SNET
|
$4.5
|
1,000,000
|
1998
|
2000
|
|
SBC, Texas
|
$1.5
|
|
|
|
|
Pronto
|
$6.0
|
|
|
|
|
SBC
Total
|
$33.6
|
12,500,000
|
|
|
|
Verizon
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bell
Atlantic
|
$11.0
|
8,750,000
|
1997
|
1997
|
|
NYNEX
(in MA)
|
$.5
|
2.000,000
|
1997
|
1997
|
|
GTE
|
$4.1
|
7,000,000
|
2000
|
2000
|
|
Verizon
Total
|
$15.6
|
17,750,000
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
$48.9
|
36,500,000
|
|
|
The primary
finding -- at every merger, whatever fiber optic based
services were being built or deployed, were shut down when
the ink dried. This impacted 26 states, not including the 28
territories of GTE. For example, when SBC bought California’s Pacific
Telesis in 1996, SBC closed down the Pac Bell fiber
deployments which were to reach 5.5 million customers by
2000 at a cost of $16 billion, even though state laws were
changed to give Pac Bell more money for the new upgrades.
SBC
was to spend $33.6 billion and have 12.5 million households
while Verizon was supposed to spend $15.6 billion on 17.7
million households. Combined, Verizon and SBC were to spend
$48.9 billion and have 36.5 million households by 2000. – By 2006, the Bell companies should have
deployed 86 million households
As discussed,
this is using their own data, such as annual reports, and
was fiber-to-the-home services, capable of 500 channels and
45mbps services in both directions.
|