Sunday, July 22, 2007

Phone Company Rent-Seeking--on Your Dime, of Course

Would it surprise you that during the Clinton Administration a law mandating riches for "rural phone providers" was passed---AND that the single biggest beneficiary of that law is based in Little Rock, AR.?

I didn't think so.

Would it surprise you that Ted Stevens (Major PIG-Alaska) is one of the major supporters of the law, despite serious reservations from the FCC (the law's administrator) and many other members of Congress?

I didn't think so.

Read it and weep some more.

1 comment:

  1. A similar program is yielding some interesting market distortions.

    Telcos in Iowa & other remote places can generally charge other carriers what they please to connect calls and for the time on the line.

    Ever wonder why companies offering free teleconferencing can make it? Now you know. In fact, there is a telco in Iowa offering free international dialing to about fifty nations. Currently the bigs refuse to connect calls to this telco and the telco is fighting those decisions as against the regulations.

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