I don't know about local stuff, but what I read about the history of AT&T Longlines is that it must have been heavily government funded for federal defense and communications interests. Here is one example
http://long-lines.net/places-routes/Lyons_NE/index.html They must have been either richer than the feds or federally funded to be able to build their infrastructure to the high standards needed to survive nuclear war. If you think someone is milking the government a little with a small community homeland security radio project, AT&T had the whole milk processing plant metaphorically speaking. If the feds didn't build it, surely they rebuilt it to their standards with fat contracts to a monopoly provider. I have personally built and tested many analog phones for the federal government that sold for $1000 each in some cases; the company I was working for that had this contract had bid against AT&T to get it. If the phones cost that much, I can't imagine that the services cost. Now RUS is financing Crossroads, a mostly redundant and unnecesary cellular network meant to benefit the ILECs who are not verizon. On Thu, Oct 09, 2008 at 10:11:27AM -0600, Chuck McCown wrote: > The phone system was not developed by tax dollars. > It was developed by guys like Art Brothers who hand built miles of open wire > pole lines by himself. > He later got loans from the REA (later to become the RUS) to improve his > system. A program that serves as a profit center for the us government. > You all should be thanking the RUS for making your income tax bill lower > through money that flows from that program to the general fund. > > Do you really think Ma Bell was not profitable and had to be supported by > taxes? > When I think of blue chip stock, I think of the old AT&T. > > How was the phone system developed by tax dollars? 120 years ago there was > a boom in telecommunications with in some cases multiple LECs in the same > city. Government regulation stepped in to create the monopoly and to tax > it. But they did not build the bell system or any of the independents. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "RickG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 10:04 AM > Subject: Re: [WISPA] gotta love USF!!!! > > > > Chuck, so your definition of a "tax" is if you are forced to pay? > > Keeping in mind that the phone system was developed as a public > > utility by tax dollars that we all were forced to pay. IMO, that means > > that we should be able use it without being encumbered by fees other > > than what are necessary to support the system is was designed for. Am > > I really off base here? > > -RickG > > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 11:55 AM, Chuck McCown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Use magic jack, ham radio, smoke signals, skype or the post office. > >> Your telephone bill comes from a commercial enterprise. > >> You do not have to participate. > >> Therefore you are not forced to pay into our charity program. > >> That is not a tax. > >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> From: "RickG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> > >> Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 9:52 AM > >> Subject: Re: [WISPA] gotta love USF!!!! > >> > >> > >>> Tacking a fee on my telephone bill is a form of taxation. -RickG > >>> > >>> On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 11:34 AM, Chuck McCown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>>> The current USF audits by USAC are turning up collusion between school > >>>> districts (the principle is the brother of the local ISP) and provider > >>>> of > >>>> goods and services of E-rate funded projects. The audits have not > >>>> shown > >>>> any > >>>> telephone company to be misusing this money. > >>>> > >>>> And I want to repeat, this is not taxpayer money. Most of this money > >>>> is > >>>> from a charge tacked onto the bills of the RBOC customers. It is > >>>> revenue > >>>> pooling and re-distribution. > >>>> > >>>> So, lets back off the "misuse by telephone company" tone of this > >>>> discussion. > >>>> If we want to point fingers, you will find the fingers are pointing at > >>>> the > >>>> local networking and ISP companies. That is the major source of the > >>>> misuse. > >>>> The second is cell phone companies claiming to be providing pots > >>>> service > >>>> to > >>>> rural customers via tellular units. Western Wireless built a business > >>>> plan > >>>> around tapping the USF for all it could get. > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>>> > >>>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > >>>> > >>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >>>> > >>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >>>> > >>> > >>> > >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >>> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> > >>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > >>> > >>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >>> > >>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >>> > >> > >> > >> > >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> > >> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > >> > >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >> > >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >> > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! 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