[GoodThings2Life]

I love it.

The FCC establishes all sorts of BS regulations on the telco industry as a whole, and the carriers are slow to build up their networks as a result. This limits the number of customers they can make money off of, so in response they come up with this idea of exclusivity and increased charges to compensate a need for more money (forget what your hippy college professors preach, this is America, people, profit and competition are a GOOD thing for everyone).

Then, customers complain because businesses are doing what business always do... making money based on customer demand for a product... but not really doing anything to improve and innovate. So we complain, and the FCC steps in again...

The FCC comes back and says, "OK, you're guilty of xxx, so we're going to regulate you some more!" Carriers fight back for a while, but ultimately helpless to the FCC says, "Grrrr, fine, you win... we'll do as you ask," but there's a catch... what they want costs money, so instead the rates actually go up by way of taxes... you know, when you look at your bill and it says "FCC/Federal/State/Local Taxes". Yeah, that's what all that is.

The answer, of course, is everyone telling the FCC to go frak themselves, but that'll never happen because it's just not cool to be capitalist right now. It's all about the miracle that is socialism and big government regulation.

Pity. We could be much more better off without the so-called level playing field.