Competition, Soviet style?
SBC gets the right to raise its network prices for rivals by 20 percent
California state regulators gave SBC Communications the right to raise the amount they charge rivals to use their networks by more than 20 percent. This is a state issue, but the Baby Bells are also renegotiating with rivals based on the collapse of federal guidelines, and local rivals are hurting. AT&T has already largely pulled out of the competitive phone business.
The San Francisco Chronicle quotes Bruce Fein, a former Federal Communications Commission general counsel: "Choosing a telephone company soon will be like voting in a Soviet election," Fein said.
There's not much question that the big phone companies are gaining back the near-monopoly they once held over their old phone lines. That certainly doesn't bode well for the feature-increasing and price-reducing pressure of competition. But there is increasing pressure from cable and cell phones. Maybe Soviet-style is an exaggeration. Say, maybe, Albanian style?