Okay, Sorry to post again, but I went back and was writing about this terrible thing being done to consumers, and I got quite empassioned, ending up writing an empassioned exposé of this whole BellSouth scandal, starting with looking at my phone bill.
What I found is this.
First, they charge us for our service.
Then they still collect the USF, but thats only about 70¢.
But, what's this $6.50 charge (per line of course, all charges are) for network access? Isn't that what I pay for to start with in getting a phone line?
Okay, so they are getting 69.5¢ per line they don't deserve.
According to their current financial report for the period ending June 31st, this monthly revenue would equal $13,413,500 a month (they have 19.3 million total access lines).
If they are collecting this on Cingular bills for wireless service, thats 57.3 million subscribers. That would bring their monthly bounty to $53,237,000!!
This is CRAZY!
These guys are crazy. First of all, how can anyone within any regulatory power say, okay, well, you demand we end the collection of the USF, but it's okay for you to continue to gauge the consumer? NO!
I've been irked about paying that USF charge for years- it's stupid, it's not like we really have rural areas where consumers need served and there aren't adequate facilities in place. The telcos are equally involved as any municipal agency in residential zoning expansion and any new construction is on the top of everyone's list, trying to be that single provider within the home for all things, broadband, phone service and television.
A BellSouth representative said they have been testing DSL at speeds of 24Mbps for about a year now, allowing them to carry their new television signal into our homes.
Why haven't they?
Also, if Fiber to the curb has been their goal for the last 5-10 years, why was my home, constructed just over three years ago still on POS copper, and better yet, can't even get the highest speed dsl. C'mon guys. You'd think living across from the Doral Country Club there would be ample services to those who live here. They would tend to spend more, I'd think.
BellSouth, c'mon! Be fair, you pretty much own everything now anyway (Welll, MA AT&T).
Well, no one ever said that DRM would be popular. When VHS tapes were encoded with Macrovision to not allow ease of duplication, people went crazy too, but I don't recall the FCC trying to get on that bandwagon.
And last time I popped in a DVD, it wasn't an FCC warning, it was an FBI warning.
Maybe she applied to the wrong department. Was this another "internal promotion" like Michael Brown?
Okay, first of all, Blockbuster is only the largest competitor that Netflix has. There are so many knock offs it's not even funny. In fact, I've even found an 'adult' service ala Netflix, and they are still kickin'.
The entire concept of process patents is stupid. Look at IBM, they are deep in patents, however they are based on a physical mechanical interaction or module within another piece of hardware or software. Not "ideas." Amazon tried that, remember - didn't work long, now they have 90 people who do nothing more than attempt to figure out how to automate human processes and Microsoft has taken over a business park in India - hiring people with NO PATENT EXPERIENCE REQUIRED and are reviewing pretty much anything ever made and determining if there are any "open" patents to file... Nice business model!
Netflix continues to deliver faster than most, until throttled, then you don't even wait so long...
Blockbuster has the B&M Tied up. Hollywood is a pale second. They should try an unlimited, recurring membership fee for rentals as well, level the market and see what happens. Hell, it can't hurt - there is a great need for prime locations wtihin the best stripmalls.
When someone said OnDemand, I said, Right On! First, Pay Per View (aka OnDemand) was great, remember when the cable box used to be connected to the phone line? Well, after that they went without the phone connection, utilizing two-way communication - already within the communications capability of the box. Now, with really, On Demand (Channel 1) Videos, television shows you miss, everything you can want is ready 24 hours a day for your viewing pleasure, when you press start.
Feel free to FF and REW while you PLAY your movie. Being able to do that with live TV still freaks me out. But TIVO - HAH! Gave away the only one I ever had without even opening the box - I had already fallen in love with Windows Media Center and Cinema Now. But today, Comcast - just rules. Satellite - Get it OUTTA here!
Okay, so back to the rental topic.
No throttling;
No more than 3 @ any time
No monthly limits (1 transaction daily)
Games and DVDs.
B & M could rule the world.
Or, Netflix could buy up Hollywood Video and do their own thing! C'mON guys!
On the post: BellSouth Adds New Fee To Pay For The Non-Fee They No Longer Need To Collect
Re: Are you kidding me?
What I found is this.
First, they charge us for our service. Then they still collect the USF, but thats only about 70¢. But, what's this $6.50 charge (per line of course, all charges are) for network access? Isn't that what I pay for to start with in getting a phone line?
Okay, so they are getting 69.5¢ per line they don't deserve.
According to their current financial report for the period ending June 31st, this monthly revenue would equal $13,413,500 a month (they have 19.3 million total access lines).
If they are collecting this on Cingular bills for wireless service, thats 57.3 million subscribers. That would bring their monthly bounty to $53,237,000!! This is CRAZY!
On the post: BellSouth Adds New Fee To Pay For The Non-Fee They No Longer Need To Collect
Are you kidding me?
I've been irked about paying that USF charge for years- it's stupid, it's not like we really have rural areas where consumers need served and there aren't adequate facilities in place. The telcos are equally involved as any municipal agency in residential zoning expansion and any new construction is on the top of everyone's list, trying to be that single provider within the home for all things, broadband, phone service and television.
A BellSouth representative said they have been testing DSL at speeds of 24Mbps for about a year now, allowing them to carry their new television signal into our homes.
Why haven't they?
Also, if Fiber to the curb has been their goal for the last 5-10 years, why was my home, constructed just over three years ago still on POS copper, and better yet, can't even get the highest speed dsl. C'mon guys. You'd think living across from the Doral Country Club there would be ample services to those who live here. They would tend to spend more, I'd think.
BellSouth, c'mon! Be fair, you pretty much own everything now anyway (Welll, MA AT&T).
On the post: FCC Commissioner Wants To Push For DRM Just 'Cause She Likes It
FCC Needs to Understand It's Limits
And last time I popped in a DVD, it wasn't an FCC warning, it was an FBI warning.
Maybe she applied to the wrong department. Was this another "internal promotion" like Michael Brown?
On the post: Could Netflix's Patent Lawsuit Boost Blockbuster?
C'Mon y'all! Get the Facts Straight!
The entire concept of process patents is stupid. Look at IBM, they are deep in patents, however they are based on a physical mechanical interaction or module within another piece of hardware or software. Not "ideas." Amazon tried that, remember - didn't work long, now they have 90 people who do nothing more than attempt to figure out how to automate human processes and Microsoft has taken over a business park in India - hiring people with NO PATENT EXPERIENCE REQUIRED and are reviewing pretty much anything ever made and determining if there are any "open" patents to file... Nice business model!
Netflix continues to deliver faster than most, until throttled, then you don't even wait so long...
Blockbuster has the B&M Tied up. Hollywood is a pale second. They should try an unlimited, recurring membership fee for rentals as well, level the market and see what happens. Hell, it can't hurt - there is a great need for prime locations wtihin the best stripmalls.
When someone said OnDemand, I said, Right On! First, Pay Per View (aka OnDemand) was great, remember when the cable box used to be connected to the phone line? Well, after that they went without the phone connection, utilizing two-way communication - already within the communications capability of the box. Now, with really, On Demand (Channel 1) Videos, television shows you miss, everything you can want is ready 24 hours a day for your viewing pleasure, when you press start.
Feel free to FF and REW while you PLAY your movie. Being able to do that with live TV still freaks me out. But TIVO - HAH! Gave away the only one I ever had without even opening the box - I had already fallen in love with Windows Media Center and Cinema Now. But today, Comcast - just rules. Satellite - Get it OUTTA here!
Okay, so back to the rental topic.
No throttling;
No more than 3 @ any time
No monthly limits (1 transaction daily)
Games and DVDs.
B & M could rule the world.
Or, Netflix could buy up Hollywood Video and do their own thing! C'mON guys!
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