It looks obvious

Om Malik wrote a very good review on the Universal Service Fund. In short, the FCC continues to demonstrate more concern to the interest of the RBUC than to the users – which it pretends to represent.

Some people might claim that the government involvement helped opening the telecom market to competition, they will be wrong . The government created the AT&T monopoly in the first place, to unify networks and to ensure service for the rural areas. Moreover the government, and the FCC as its regulatory body, made sure that the telecom act of 96 will be empty from real meaning – leaving the RBUCs as regional monopolies that control the “last mile” to the end user phone.

The market opened to competition despite the government involvement with the cable and VoIP provides which bypass the control of the Telco’s on the facilities. In the near future we might see another type of players – the power line companies. These companies, offering BPL , will be able to affect the rural area in a way that no USF can do.

Government involvement in the market created monopoly, which then becomes “Natural Monopoly” to justify its existence. And now the government is only and obstacle on the way of real competition.

Someone once told me that the biggest charge in the phone bill is taxes. Although I do not have the exact portion examining the bill revile that our telecom services (Local, LD and Cellular) are heavily taxed. Wondering why I come with only one conclusion – because they can.

 So, if the FCC doesn’t help us, the users, to ensure competition what are they busy doing? They are our moral gourd:

In a blatantly illegal and unconstitutional overstepping of authority, the FCC is holding approval of a cable merger as ransom to pressure cable companies to reduce sexual content. The FCC has no authority to regulate alleged indecency on cable — or satellite or the internet — this sort of blackmail is hardly the way regulation is supposed to work

That is really why we need the government.