WASHINGTON WATCH
TRAC Urges Close Scrutiny of AT&T-BellSouth Merger - On Monday, TRAC urged Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to carefully consider the consumer impact of the proposed AT&T-BellSouth merger. TRAC further urged the government to use their review of the merger as a basis for the reevaluation of the nation’s telecommunications policy in light of emerging industry trends that have profoundly affected consumers’ use of communications products and services. In particular, TRAC urged that the government’s review of the proposed merger focus on the following consumer protection issues:
- Ensuring that all markets are and will be reasonably competitive for residential consumer services;
- Examining AT&T’s market position with respect to video, data, equipment, and other vertical and horizontal markets;
- Determining AT&T’s financial commitment to delivering true broadband to all consumers; and
- Extracting the necessary public interest commitments to ensure that consumers will be able to fully understand their options and rights in a more consolidated industry.
“Congress and regulatory agencies need to ensure that there will be adequate consumer protections at all levels and effective competition in all telecommunications markets,” said John Breyault, TRAC’s Research Associate. “Appropriate regulation will be needed where effective competition does not exist.” To read TRAC’s press release on this issue, click here.
BUCKS WATCH
Maine Ratewatcher Telecom Guide Useful … And Not Just For Yankees! - The State of Maine’s Public Advocate Office (MEPAO) has just released that latest edition of their Ratewatcher Telecom Guide. As usual, the Guide is chock-full of good information on telecom services and prices. Much of the information in the guide is, as one would expect, Maine-specific, but there is lots of good pricing and service information on national carriers as well. Of particular note to consumers outside of Maine is the information on prepaid calling cards, residential VoIP plans, national dial-up ISPs, and satellite broadband providers. The Ratewatcher Telecom Guide is available for free online from the MEPAO by clicking here.
TRAC AND YOU
Readers Respond to Virginia Flat Tax Proposal – In last week’s edition of TRACNotes, we asked readers to respond with their thoughts on the legislation currently making its way through the Virginia General Assembly that would replace most taxes on telecommunications services with a flat 5% tax. Here’s what some readers thought of the proposal:.
“If the tax revenue is used solely for the infrastructure and improvement of the telecommunications services taxed, it's a good thing. If it is just another source of government revenue, it's a bad thing. The users should foot the bill for the service. If too much revenue is generated, the tax should be lowered; if not enough, it should be raised.” – S.H.
A reader in Olympia, Washington had this to say about the issue:
“Your ‘Washington Watch’ piece on the State of Virginia proposed consolidation of billed taxes gave me yet another chuckle. The [telephone companies] used to do it that way, but there was a big consumer foo-fah about knowing what they're paying for. This seems yet another case of ‘be careful what you wish for, because you might get it.'” – B.H.
TRAC IN THE NEWS
Add-On Fees Should Be Absorbed Into the Cost of Doing Business, Says TRAC – An article on phone fees in the Sunday edition of the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot quoted TRAC’s position on the bevy of discretionary fees and surcharges that phone companies apply to subscribers’ bills. If consumers paid for milk the way they do their telecom bills, said TRAC Research Associate John Breyault, they’d look at prices on the shelf and select a container but wind up with a slew of extra charges at the cash register to cover homogenization, FDA approvals and transportation fees. “It makes it very difficult for consumers to compare services effectively,” he said. Local and state governments have no incentive to control the fees because they reap money for their coffers as long as they let companies collect it from their customers, said Sam Simon, TRAC’s president. Telecom customers end up carrying an unfair burden to fund services that everyone in the community should help pay for, he said. To read the full article, click here.
Train Employees to Solve Problems, Not Up-Sell, Says TRAC – Telecommunications companies should use their customer service personnel to solve customers’ problems, not try to sell them new products and services said TRAC in an article on call centers in Saturday’s San Antonio Express-News. "We would certainly like to see telecom companies train their service people to be better at solving problems instead of being better salespeople," said John Breyault, TRAC Research Associate. To read the full article, click here.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
What do you think? Got a tip you want to share? Nominate your "Scam of the Week" and your "Tip of the Week" - If we select your submission, we'll give you a one-year free membership in TRAC and acknowledge your contribution by name in TRACNotes. Send an e-mail to trac@trac.org to submit your ideas!
TRACNotes is distributed to TRAC members and those who have signed up on the TRAC website "Newscenter." If you do not want to receive TRACNotes, simply click here and let us know. You won't receive these in the future. We hope you choose to remain a part of our network, and that you find TRACNotes helpful. Our goal is to provide you with useful information about what is happening in the telecommunications marketplace for consumers and to keep you up to date on TRAC's policy advocacy. If you like what you see, please consider becoming a member of TRAC by clicking here.
©2006 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source: Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
