Do Not Let 2 Companies Control America's Digital Future!

Break Up SBC, Break Up Verizon

NEW!!!! OCTOBER 27th.

FTC Complaint for Commercial Speech, Deceptive Practices in Mergers,

Teletruth files this Complaint with the FTC, claiming that the previous Bell mergers were based on a massive, 10-year pattern of misrepresentation, untruthful and outright fraudulent statements made to customers. How many misleading, deceptive or fraudulent statements does it take to become a case of fraud?

=========================

The Customer Costs of the BIG, BAD Bell Mergers.

  • 26 States Lost Fiber Optic Broadband After each merger, SBC and Verizon cut fiber optic deployments. It impacted 26 states, over 200 million people.
  • $205 Billion in Overcharging: We estimate that the Bell companies overcharged $205 billion dollars hat's about $2000. a household. -
  • $4 Trillion Harm to the Economy. Every year we didn't get the fiber optic services, it cost America $500 billion annually.
  • By 2005, 86 million households should have been rewired in the US.
  • Here's 43 different cities' plan of deployments -- From BellSouth, NYNEX, GTE, Ameritech and Bell Atlantic, filed with the FCC... None exist today.
  • Higher Prices: Local prices were inflated, including Universal Service Funding, because of the promise to rewire the country, state by state.
  • Largest "Bait and Switch" in History. Customer paid for a fiber optic wire into their home and office. Instead, the companies sold America DSL over the old copper wire.
  • 45mps in both directions, open to all competition is what was promised and paid for. --- Customers paid for a Ferrari and got a used Yugo.
  • Laughing stock of the World. America is 12th or16th in the world in broadband, (depending on which International group you believe) because two companies did not fulfill their obligations to build out the fiber optic networks as committed by state alternate deregulation plans.
  • Misleading and Fraudulent Statements to Get Merged. The public has been duped by these companies. In the original mergers, these companies claimed they needed to get larger to compete 'Out-of-their-own-region'.
  • The FIOS Feign. If history is our guide, SBC’s Lightspeed and Verizon’s FIOS are a ruse — after they get to merge, they will trash their out-of-region plans and their fiber optic networks. It’s clear that they will NOT commit to any deployment or be held accountable. Remember that both companies announced IPTV, which is not yet a commercial product. Is it another "fiber plan" that doesn’t get built? SBC’s Lightspeed numbers are way overstated. Meanwhile, FIOS is a walled-in-network that is controlled by Verizon. It is not open to competition. In fact, Verizon is now claiming it can limit content as well. And it is inferior to what was promised in 1993.
  • The Muni Revolt — A Work-around the Failed Deployments. As Congress ponders the next iteration of the Telecom Act, it is also deciding the fate of the municipalities who want to rewire or Wifi their cities or towns. The Bell companies never delivered leaving the customers, or in this case the cities, to have to do work-arounds for the lack of broadband and proper infrastructure for economic growth. Ironically, the phone companies are now lobbying and taking legal actions to ban muni competition.
  • Death to Competition In every merger and in every state Alternate Regulation plan, the companies made commitments to open their networks to all forms of competition, from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to Competitive Local Exchange Companies (CLECs). And yet, the FCC has erased and ignored these obligations. Over 6000 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were essentially forced out of business, and the two largest competitors in the country, AT&T and MCI have been bought by the incumbents. Congress needs to investigate how competitive merger conditions turned into giving the phone companies exclusive rights to the "Public Switched Telephone Networks". (PSTN). Need I remind Congress that the Bell companies should have also been competitors as well?
  • The Quadruple Play and Cross-Subsidization. Besides the destruction of competition, it is amazing that Congress would allow one company to put the entire long distance, ISP and competitive markets out of business by allowing the one company that controlled the wires to cross-subsidize its other business. According to Verizon, 60% of their customers now have two or more services— local, long distance, DSL and wireless. Much of that growth was subsidized with money earmarked for fiber network upgrades and the out of region competition.
  • AT&T and MCI’s Big Mouth Will be Gone. Washington insiders know that the Bell companies have an extensive underground of astro-turf groups, heavily funded lobbyists, research firms and other groups who make sure that the Bell companies are represented. AT&T had its own groups, including Voices for Choices, and MCI also had its legal staff to defend the competitive side. Now, with these two major companies being muzzled, who will make sure there is balance to the Bell forces? Everyone else is under-financed and out-staffed.
Teletruth Requests Congress Start Immediate Investigations into the Previous Bell Mergers.

We are asking for Congress to have immediate hearings pertaining to the previous Bell mergers

Siblings should not marry is common knowledge. But now we have 2 companies who married their siblings and were able to control the Digital Future of over 200 million people, over 26 states. They also control almost 60% of long distance, 90% of DSL and 70+% of wireless. Make them Larger? 

 ===================================

1) DEMAND HEARINGS.

Please go to these sites. Tell them to hold hearings about the Previous Mergers' Harms.

Senator McCain and Lautenberg have introduced a bill to allow municipalities to offer broadband. Tell them to investigate the phone companies as well.

  • Senator McCain
  • Senator Lautenberg
  • Senator DeWine Is the Chairman of the Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee of the full Senate Judiciary Committee and is examining merger conditions for the new mergers. Tell him to investigate the previous mergers as well.
  • Senator Kohl is working the DeWine on these issues.
2) WRITE THE FCC

Write the Commissioners ---

NOTE: Powell has left the FCC. Make the other Commissioners care about the Public Interest.

==============================

3) CONTACT THE PRESS

Contact the Press: Contact your local media to investigate. Write the large media companies and tell them to start investigating what was promised in your state. Fiber Optic deployments? Bell competitors? How much money was collected in your state?