New Networks Institute   In the News, 2000-1999 Just some of the press....  Crains New York Business Sluggish Verizon hangs up Internet service providers; Survey finds phone line problems slow DSL connections; company disagrees 9/18/00   Dallas Morning News Many finding high-speed connections elusive 9/20/00   Boardwatch Magazine Feature ISP Survey Rings Bells Bells’ Discriminatory Practices Mute ISP Success (August, 2000) by Bruce Kushnick   National Journal's Technology Daily Bell Competitors Feeling Slammed  PM Edition, August 23, 2000, Teri Rucker   San Diego Union Tribune Pacific Bell complaint could lead to IRS inquiry | Write-offs taken although plans aborted, group says Mike Drummond, 12-Apr-2000 A watchdog organization says the Internal Revenue Service might investigate its charges that Pacific Bell improperly took $3.4 billion in tax write-offs for an aborted fiber-optic "superhighway" initiative. InternetNews.com NNI Reports DSL Deployment Hampered By Local Phone Companies Watchdog organization finds that LECs discriminate against independent ISPs, provide substandard service,stifle efforts to launch broadband. by Patricia Fusco, April 12, 2000 Boston Globe Analyst hits Bell Atlantic: Phone firm denies gouging customers in state for $1b By Peter J. Howe, Boston Globe Staff, 10/06/99 New York telecommunications analyst who has been on a national crusade against what he calls rampant consumer ripoffs by Baby Bell phone companies is coming to Massachusetts with a dramatic charge: That Bell Atlantic has gouged Bay State telephone customers for $1 billion over the past four years. The analyst, Bruce A. Kushnick, is filing a complaint today with state telecommunications regulators asking them to recoup vast sums of money Bell has been allowed to charge customers for an ''information superhighway'' network it largely never wound up building.    Book Foreword, Dr. Bob Metcalfe, Infoworld January 26, 1998 Telecom analyst ventures forth with documentation of big Baby Bell rip-offs. Bruce Kushnick just spent seven years writing his "unauthorized biography" of the Bell telephone monopolies. His unpublished, 475-page manuscript exposes how the Baby Bells have been ripping us off since they were born out of AT&T in 1984. THE INDUSTRY STANDARD Telco Sites Leave Customers on Hold, July 2, 1999 By Katherine Cavanaugh Kushnick says the Bells' Web sites have failed to add information about taxes, surcharges, deposits, installation charges, set-up fees and "subscriber line charges," which add $3.50 to every residential bill. He says he won't be happy until their Web sites have an icon that connects directly to the Public Service Commission so that consumers can lodge formal complaints about their phone company by e-mail. The Worcester Telegram and Gazette Market entices Baby Bell Bell Atlantic looking to go the distance Wednesday, July 21, 1999 WORCESTER-- Bell Atlantic Corp.'s application to enter the long-distance market in Massachusetts had fairly smooth sailing at a public hearing last night with only a few people questioning the appropriateness of the request. MCI WorldCom and AT&T, who strongly oppose Bell Atlantic's plans, did not appear at the session in City Hall. One adversary who did, Bruce A. Kushnick of New York, author of "The Unauthorized Bio of the Baby Bells," however, more than made up for their absence. In his self-published book, which is very critical of the regional Bell telephone companies, Kushnick argues that they have used their monopoly position in the local telephone market consistently to overcharge their customers.   The Boston Phoenix Rip-offs: The other evil empire by Ben Geman, June 17 - 24, 1999 To anti-phone-company crusader Bruce Kushnick, the renewal of Star Wars fever is an amusing reminder of the misdeeds of what he calls the nation's evilest industry. "It's no coincidence that Darth Vader and Bell Atlantic use the same spokesperson, have the same voice," says Kushnick, referring to the basso profundo of actor James Earl Jones. Free Times, Cover story, Stumbling Towards a New Monopoly , June 16th-22, 1999 "He has done more than 2,000 consumer interviews and informal surveys of ISPs as part of his research. He also hears about ISP problems with the Baby Bells at conventions. “I spoke at an ISP convention a year ago,” Kushnick said. “They [ISP representatives] all started screaming ‘You won’t believe what they’re doing in my state.’” Kushnick’s informal survey of ISP providers revealed that more than half of all small ISPs have problems dealing with their Baby Bells. The problems include: Tele.com Bell Fire -- "I Challenge Any Bell To Refute My Findings. If There Is Any Distortion, Let Them Either Put It Up For The Public To See ... Or Shut Up." March 22, 1999 First, thanks for running the piece about my book, The Unauthorized Bio of the Baby Bells & Info-Scandal, in your "Bell Confidential: Feds, Fraud & Fiber" (Headers, Feb. 8). I would like to comment on statements made by BellSouth's mouthpiece. Byte.com The Unauthorized Bio Of The Baby Bells An Info-Scandal By Bruce Kushnick -- May 3rd, 1999 [Editor's Note: The Information Highway runs through the switches and over the wires of the telephone operating companies. Author Bruce A. Kushnick in his book, The Unauthorized Biography of the Baby Bells & Info-Scandal suggests we haven't gotten what we've paid for in terms of high-speed access improvements. The question of what we're going to get, and when, from the telephone companies affects every denizen of cyberspace. Kushnick's opinions are unorthodox, but well grounded. This excerpt is from the summary at the end of his book; each point is backed by pages of research earlier in this 474-page work.] America's Network Magazine The Trail of Broken Promises Former consultant uses pen to battle the Baby Bells. By David S. Isenberg, November 1998 Bruce Kushnick doesn't get invited to fancy telecom meetings anymore. When he began exposing the Baby Bells' patterns of broken promises, his status dove from top telemedia consultant to industry pariah. internetnews.com Sects, Lies and Red Tape Are consumer sects all part of a larger conspiracy exercised by the telecommunications industry to minimize competition and maximize margins? No. The grass roots and the half-truths are simply business as usual, reminding ISPs that Ma Bell may have been disbanded, but the Baby Bellís learned their business models from Mommy Dearest. Bruce Kushnick, author of The Unauthorized Biography of the Baby Bells, estimates that somewhere between 30 to 50% of all Internet Service Providers receive sub-standard customer service from their line provider. Lightwave A broadband comedy: Did the 'cable guys' kidnap consumer choice? By Stephen N. Brown, April 1999 Kushnick documents the incumbents' decade-long pattern of stalling tactics and broken promises that have delayed a fiber infrastructure. More Tele.com: Fancy Footwork -- "There's Probably Not A Rat's Chance In Hell That Cable Companies Will Open Up Their Networks Anytime Soon."April 19, 1999 The ongoing legislative attempts to open up cable's high-speed Internet access to all Internet service providers is nothing more than trying to open a knot of wires with your toes. Yes, I believe that the cable companies should immediately ... Bell Confidential: Feds, Fraud & Fiber, February 08, 1999 In his new book, "The Unauthorized Biography of the Baby Bells & Info-Scandal," due out this week, telecom analyst Bruce Kushnick chronicles what he claims are tens of billions of dollars of overcharges and underdeliveries by the Bells goin... Info-Scandal and the Hosing Of America's ISPs