Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: 9 Jun 91 20:15:55 GMT From: Joe Talbot Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Hollings and Pac*Bell Message-ID: Organization: ATI, High desert research center, Victorville, Ca Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 442, Message 2 of 5 Lines: 48 I think that RBOCs shouldn't be able to engage in ANY business other than providing local telephone service. Despite what many "I didn't have to understand it then, and I shouldn't have to now" people say, things are much better since divestiture. There are services available that the Bell System NEVER would have thought worth offering. They were not a great deal when they came out, but the fact that they were available may have caused more desirable services to appear. If Pac*Bell's voicemail service puts all the other providers out of business because it is selling the service below what non-telcos can provide it for, there is somebody paying the difference, or Pac*Bell's rates to the private voicemail providers are unjust. If Pac*Bell's service is the only one around (for any reason) then the only service improvements that will appear are the ones Pac*Bell feels will make it more money in a large marketplace (mass appeal). In article , Bob_Frankston%Slate_ Corporation@mcimail.com (Bob Frankston) writes: > In the spirit of naive optimism I'd like to see a law that allows > telcos to offer these services but with the condition that the > services be done with an arms length subsidiary and that any protocols > used would be made generally available to third parties. A good idea, but why should they be able to have an advantage at all? Laws don't seem to work with technical issues and we've seen some pretty creative examples of "creative accounting" for these subsidiary companies (ask your friends in New York about Materiel enterprises). Besides, these protocalls/services are supposed to be available to service providers NOW! This Hollings bill is very dangerous! We're headed for the Bell System all over again. I don't want to go back to that again because a few dummies don't want to make choices, but just "let the phone company do it." If Pac*Bell isn't satisfied with having the local service monopoly, guaranteed to make a profit, then I suspect there might be a few who'd take this thankless job off their hands so that they could make it big in all the other businesses they wish to pursue. joe@mojave.ati.com Slow mail: P.O. box 1750, Helendale California 92342 Phone: (619) 243-5500 Fax (619) 952-1030