The New Cartel
I've spoken out a lot about the Bell (AT&T/SBC, Verizon, and BellSouth) companies' plans to implement a two-tiered Internet pricing scheme in which they plan to impose a tax on broadband content companies like Google, Ebay, Vonage, and Apple to deliver their services to Bells' DSL customers in the form of an "Access Fee."
The Bells' CEOs justify the new pricing scheme claiming the prices they charge their customers for DSL service is not enough to cover their network build out costs and that broadband content providers should be required to subsidize those costs for gaining access to Bells' customers.
Finally, a couple of consumer groups joined together today to ask congress to act before it's too late and institute rules forbidding cable and phone companies from instituting such fees.
From InternetNews.com
"These pricing schemes are simply poorly disguised discrimination," Ben Scott, policy director of the media reform group Free Press, said at a press conference. "Requiring Internet companies to pay for high-speed access to the Internet when they're already charging consumers for the same service means consumers will ultimately pay twice." Scott added it is "foolish to think those costs won't eventually be passed on to consumers."
Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America, called the pricing plan a "tax on innovation."
Calling the "unregulated duopoly of telephone and cable companies" created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the "new cartel," Cooper noted neither the Bells nor the cable companies have produced any data justifying the need to charge fees to content and service providers.
"Certainly, they [Bells and cable companies] should be allowed to recoup their costs [for building a network]," Cooper said. "They should charge consumers for the functionality of the network and let the applications fill up the pipe. They don't need to tax the applications."
"Congress should enact tough new laws prohibiting cable and telephone companies from blocking consumer access to content and services on the Internet, bilking both consumers and Internet-based companies," said Jeannine Kennedy, a senior policy analyst at Consumers Union.
Let's just hope the feds are listening with their minds and not their Bell lobby stuffed wallets.
Have fun,
j
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