DON.KIMBERLIN@p6.f889.n106.z1.fidonet.org (DON KIMBERLIN) (01/13/90)
...Following is from AT&T's "News Briefs," explaining the issues raised
in your post of a suggested letter to legislators:
REPORT -- Consumers and government policy makers should not be
swayed by the phone companies' siren song that, if only given t
chance, they could give all Americans telephone, video and
computer data in one neat package, a new report says. Those wi
low incomes, along with the disabled, elderly and the rural,
should be especially wary about a new "information age" because
these groups will be the least able to foot the bill, according
a report prepared for the Consumer Federation of America and th
American Association for Retired Persons. ... AP.
..Hope it makes clear some of the maneuvering being done by the
"local" phone company on a national basis. We MUST remain wary of the
very large social responsibility local telephone conpanies MUST bear
for as long as they enjoy the status of even a limited monopoly. And,
even if we do break that monopoly, the transition time for the
disadvantaged part of our population will be MUCH longer than those of
us who understand and can afford to do something about it would
expect..perhaps a decade or more.
. EZ 1.24 . Safety Harbor Institute of Technology
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