[IP] Competition sends phone rates up

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Allen Firstenberg <people@addventure.com>
Date: April 12, 2006 9:53:30 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave@farber.net>
Subject: Competition sends phone rates up

Dave,

For IP if you wish.  Perhaps someone can explain the economics of this.

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060412/ 
BUSINESS/604120325/1002

N.Y. regulators approve telephone rate increase

About halfway though, we see this gem of a paragraph:

"The commissioners and PSC staff members said the companies need the  
'flexibility' to raise rates because they're losing customers rapidly  
to wireless phones, cable companies and other competitors. Verizon  
has lost 3 million customers in the past five years and Frontier has  
lost 18 percent of its customers in the last three years, according  
to the commission."

Aren't we always promised that competition should lower prices?


-------------------------------------
To manage your subscription, go to
 http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/