Michael Gurstein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>In Canada we are already starting to see the cost of Long Distance service
>fall. However, the issue of what happens to those areas (such as Cape
>Breton and other rural and remote parts of the country) which have
>benefitted from a regulatory regime which imposed a uniform tariff
>structure (at least provincially) and a cross-subsidization of services.
[...]
>Those who are already competitively better favoured in metropolitan areas
>will have the additional advantage of having access to highly competitive
>telecom rates. While those in outlying communities/regions/countries will
>find themselves at a further disadvantage.
[...]
>From: Marita Moll <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: Universal Access Canada <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Fwd: WTO sagreement on telecoms
>>Did your phone costs drop yesterday?
>>
>>====================================
>>BBC london Wednesday, February 4, 1998 Published at 20:29 GMT
[...]
>> Telephone bills everywhere are set to drop by in some cases as much as
>> four-fifths. At the same time, world trade, which is increasingly
>> mediated electronically, is expected to grow. Professor Howard
>> Williams has looked at telecoms for the constancy firm Analysys.
>>
>> "As telecoms costs fall - and it's inevitable they will do as a result
>> of the agreement - we will see very substantial increases in trade, or
>> in the activities surrounding trade.
I'm not at all clear why these people think that phone bills will drop.
Seems to me that what will drop will be the phone bills for businesses
which do lots of long distance phoning during daylight hours, and to
compensate, the phone bills of those residences which make no use of
long distance service will rise, as they have been doing since the
deregulation of long distance rates, whether or not they are rural.
Here in BC, long distance was deregulated about five years ago, when my
base phone bill was about $10cdn, where it had been for years. In the last
five years, that has risen to $22cdn, and the phone company has said I can
expect it to rise to $30cdn within the next two years, to compensate for the
lost revenue from long distance subsidy. I see no reason to expect that trend
to reverse when local phone service is opened to competition. Rather, I
expect my cost will remain at around $30cdn/mo., or continue to rise, while
the complexities of managing multiple local phone companies will result
in degradation of service, and competition will mean lower pay and
reduced morale for workers, with more subsequent degradation of service.
Also note that before deregulation, the cost of a phone installation
was $25cdn. Now, it is $45cdn for an electronic entry, and $75 if it
requires an installer visit. As inflation has been almost nonexistent
during this period, these are real cost increases.
-Pete Vincent
