Broadband Prices Fall, Connections Surge
“A new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project says 31 percent of U.S. Web households now reach the Net via a broadband connection, up 50 percent in a year. And by the end of this year, at least 7 million, or 39 percent more, will switch–a number that could double if more companies follow Verizon Communications Inc.’s lead and slash broadband fees to $35 a month, a 30 percent drop, says analyst Anthony Noto of Goldman, Sachs & Co.”
–BusinessWeek, June 23, 2003
“In a race for customers with cable broadband Internet providers, BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. have slashed prices for their Internet access. BellSouth reduced prices by 14 percent to $29.95 a month when the service is bought with unlimited local and long-distance calling, and SBC reduced the price on high-speed Web connections 10 percent, to $26.95, with a one-year contract.”
–Kansas City Star, October 13, 2003
Cell Phone Cancer Suit Dismissal Upheld
“An appeals court on Wednesday sided with a federal judge who dismissed an $800 million lawsuit filed by a Maryland doctor who said his cell phone use caused his brain tumor. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia agreed with the lower court judge that testimony from an epidemiologist for the plaintiffs was neither relevant nor reliable. … Three major studies published since December 2000, including one by the National Cancer Institute, showed cell phones–used by 137 million Americans–don’t cause any adverse health effects.”
–Associated Press, October 22, 2003
SBC Starts Selling Long-Distance in Illinois
“SBC Communications Inc. will sell long-distance service [in Illinois] beginning today, for the first time since the federal government broke up the telephone monopoly in 1984. … SBC had to prove to the [Federal Communications Commission] that it had opened its phone network to competitors–which lease it and use SBC lines to sell local phone service–and that competition in the local service market was happening in Illinois.”
–Chicago Sun-Times, October 24, 2003
FCC Wants to Modify Method for Calculating UNE-P Rates
“The FCC has tentatively concluded that the current method of setting UNE-P rates is too hypothetical and should more accurately reflect ‘real world attributes,’ signaling that wholesale rates should rise. Higher rates would limit RBOC market share losses to AT&T and MCI. We believe that changes to TELRIC could lead UNE-P rates to rise by 20 percent on average, from approximately $18 per month to $21-$22. … We would view an average $22 UNE-P rate as fair for all parties involved.”
–CIBC World Markets, September 10, 2003
Judge Argues State Regulation of Web Phones Could Hurt Internet
“It would stunt Internet development and violate federal law if state regulators try to treat Internet-based voice calls as they do traditional calls, a judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis made public Thursday the rationale behind his decision last week to bar Minnesota regulators from requiring a small company that provides cheap phone service via high-speed Internet connections to face the same regulatory fees and obligations as a traditional phone company. … It is unclear what impact the federal ruling in Minneapolis might have on state regulators in California and Wisconsin who also have voted to regulate Internet phone companies or other states that are now considering the matter.”
–Associated Press, October 18, 2003
