[9674] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Telecommunications Competition Act of Washington State
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Karl Denninger)
Sun Jan 16 03:54:12 1994
From: karl@mcs.com (Karl Denninger)
To: stpeters@dawn.crd.ge.com
Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 02:52:16 -0600 (CST)
Cc: adamfast@u.washington.edu, karl@mcs.com, com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <9401152006.AA06730@spare-parts.crd.Ge.Com> from "Dick St.Peters" at Jan 15, 94 03:06:15 pm
> > > why has the level of telephone service actually been /declining/ since the
> > > sixties? market forces are /not/ achieving universal service.
> >
> > Oh really? The cost of a long distance phone call (THE ONLY PLACE WHERE
> > THERE IS COMPETITION) has declined what -- 90% in real dollar terms -- since
> > 1960?
>
> Both views are correct. In 1960 we had a national perspective much
> like that of many other countries today: telephone service is one
> thing. Since then, a new perspective has taken hold here: telephone
> service is two things, local service and long distance service, to
> be provided by different providers.
>
> Karl's obviously correct that the cost of long distance service has
> come way down. We pay less (for long distance), but we get less too -
> the "level" of service, to use Adam's term, has declined.
I disagree.
I think I get more than I did in 1960.
First and foremost, I can <hear> the other end of the connection. My first
experience with long distance telephony was so poor that I could barely tell
it was my aunt on the other end of the line! That was fixed only by
deregulation, and the advent of carriers who made it their business to
provide the best clarity (Sprint comes to mind with their "pin drop" push).
> In 1960 we
> got free long distance directory assistance, for example.
I still get this. I get billed for <local> directory assistance, but not
long distance DA.
> and if you
> had trouble placing a call, a local operator would place it for you -
> for free. If the call still wouldn't go through, the operator would
> have the problem traced and fixed, place the call for you, and call you
> back when it went through.
On the other hand, how often doesn't a call go through? That was the rule
rather than the exception in the old days. Now it is the exception -- to
the extent that I haven't had to ask for an operator to trace something or
help me out in over <two years>. And I place a lot of long distance calls!
> In many/most places, a pay phone would give
> you, free, a dialtone to reach an operator to place a collect call or
> emergency call.
Still does, per FCC regulations. In many/most places in the 70s and
early 80s you needed a dime to get <ANY> voice path to open on a payphone.
Anywhere in GTE land this was true. I had many experiences with this
which were highly exasperating. Now, phone companies doing this find
themselves doing something which is <illegal>.
Again, I think I get more, not less today.
> The phone company owned everything, right down to the
> individual phones; whenever *anything* went wrong, it was their problem
> ... no finger pointing, no passing the buck. They fixed it, usually
> very promptly, for no extra charge, even if it was caused by your kid
> pouring maple syrup over the phone.
And if you wanted an answering machine or an extra telephone it cost you a
month's salary due to the fact that you had to lease it from them. Data
traffic? Forget it!
> There's another interesting way to view this: the phone company's view
> was that they provided a high level service with premium support.
IMHO they provided a low level of service and charged through the nose for it.
> Yet today we own our own phones,
> do our own on-premises wiring, provide our own support, and if we have
> to holler for help from the phone company when it ain't their problem,
> we pay for it enough so we don't do much hollering.
Yep. Or you can pay for "linebacker" service, at a few bucks a month, and
lease your instruments from the phone company. Peace of mind, but at a
price. The difference is that you have a <choice>, and that choice wasn't
available 20 years ago. Now it is, and I think we're all much better off
for it.
Hell, I was threatened with <arrest> back in those days because I built my
own telephone out of an inductor and some fancy (for a 10 year old kid)
electronics. The telco knew there was an extra instrument (that they didn't
install) on the circuit and raised all kinds of hell. Today, unless that
instrument was causing some kind of problem, they wouldn't even know, much
less care.
> Dick St.Peters
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