I was amused to read that a bill to let phone companies offer TV-like video services nationwide faces a public hearing on Thursday. Apparently, the measure is aimed at boosting the Bell companies' challenge to cable. It would let companies such as Verizon and AT&T obtain national video licenses. They could then offer multi-channel video in any community. The part that really made me laugh though, was the old clinker trotted out by Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), the House speaker that, "Competition drives down prices and encourages innovation." If that’s so Dennis, I have just one question for you… With all the mergers, consolidation and “competition” we’ve seen over the last few years… Why have all my phone, cable and satellite bills gone up? And why did I have to switch from cable to satellite? Because there’s only one cable company where I live and when they decided to cut out most of the channels I wanted, I was informed it was because they’d done focus groups (Aaaaarrrgghh!) and standardized on the most popular channels. And if anyone remembers, one of the reasons cable companies were given a license to print money was because they would give viewers more choice… Turns out they meant their choice, not yours! Anyway, as it seems that “Ma Bell” is being reassembled, we’re not going to have much choice of anything soon.
Ah, those were the days... When "Ma Bell" was all in one piece, and you knew who was in charge!
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