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From: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: Fcc Regs/Data Comm.
Message-ID: <1990Jan2.174527.9041@world.std.com>
Date: 2 Jan 90 17:45:27 GMT
References: <31A.news.misc@pro-generic> <70194@looking.on.ca>
Organization: The World @ Software Tool & Die
Lines: 80
In-Reply-To: brad@looking.on.ca's message of 2 Jan 90 03:15:35 GMT


Brad et al,

I think these analyses are correct in the small, but miss the truth
entirely.

My guess is that they're (TPC) moving towards making sure that, as
promised, ISDN (BRI) is much cheaper than using the voice network.  Of
course, it didn't occur to most of us that this would be accomplished
by skyrocketing the costs of modem use on the voice network rather
than offering attractive rates for BRI. Perhaps we'll see a little of
both.

This happens all the time to manipulate those markets in their favor.
For example, in this area they're raising DDS-I tariffs as fast as
they can get away with to force customers over to DDS-II (which is
pretty reasonably priced, but I guess they can't wait for people to
move themselves, they're going to give a push by manipulating tariffs,
I doubt their costs for DDS-I have gone up anything like the tariffs
they've proposed.)

I don't think it has a helluva lot to do with the basic costs of
providing a particular service, more to do with manipulating customers
into their grand plan. Which may in fact be better for everyone in the
long run, it's hard to tell without the plan.

Here's a question which may point out my quibble better: Given the
several things you list as leading one to the conclusion that modem
users deserve this tariff what are the actual costs to their network?

Do they gibe at all with the proposed new tariffs? Or maybe the
factors you cite account for fractions of a cent per minute? Who knows
(well, they do.) You've pointed out that it's *possible* that, in a
microeconomic sense, it costs them something more to allow modem
traffic, but the real question is; how much?

Similarly, in the macro sense, how much additional traffic do these
modems generate? The phone system is a volume sales system, a call is
not the same as a million calls divided by a million. The entire
network's economics is based on massive usage. How do modems factor
into that picture of delivering them their needed volume to make their
network economical. Put another way, what's the contribution to their
economics of a few million modem users? How much does that offset the
claimed extra costs of carrying that traffic? I don't know, but it
deserves consideration in any real analysis.

Another analogy is when directory service suddenly became a cost
add-on. Well, no doubt it costs money to have operators etc. and that
was the reasoning.

But originally it was supposed to be there to encourage us to use our
phones and hence generate revenue for them, a fine trade-off. It also
was worked into the phone charges (musta been, it was being paid for.)

Now suddenly it's an extra-cost item. Wait a minute, doesn't that mean
we're now paying for it twice? I know my bill didn't go down when they
"unbundled" directory service (that's cause it wasn't unbundled, it
was just added on again.) I suppose they'd answer that I should be
thankful it didn't go up (huh?)

See how an oversimplified analysis (they now charge for directory
assistance because obviously it costs money) leads to missing what
might be the real point (didn't they always, by definition, include it
in my charges? Aren't I paying twice now?) Ok, divestiture made that a
little more complicated, but I think I've made the point.

Anyhow, my suspicion here is that we're not seeing something as simple
as "it costs us more so we're passing on that cost" but rather some
social engineering and trying to change people's behavior for some
grander purpose.

Perhaps it's all well and good and we should get ready to change how
we do this sort of stuff, but I don't think we've gotten to the bottom
of it yet in this discussion.

-- 
        -Barry Shein

Software Tool & Die, Purveyors to the Trade         | bzs@world.std.com
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