The FCC's Rapidly Revolving Door

Stanl writes "A former Federal Communications Commission bureau chief who played an integral role in shaping policies governing local telephone competition is now a senior vice president for federal regulatory strategy for SBC Communications, helping the telecom giant rewrite the rules she helped draft. The former chief of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau quit the agency on Sept. 15 of last year and began work at SBC Nov. 1, the Center For Public Integrity says. Here is the report."

Comments

In other words...

[SpaceLifeForm]

SBC lured her away to get her out of the way.

How shocking !

[fini]

Really shocking!

There would be suspicions of collusion between federal authorities and corporate interests in this country.

Unbelievable !

But I am fully confident that our elected leaders will know how to address those issues.

Re:How shocking !

[rgmoore]

But I am fully confident that our elected leaders will know how to address those issues.

Yes, they've clearly shown that they know how to address this issue: they allow the practice to continue so that there will be lucrative job offers available in case they don't win the next election. You didn't really expect them to close down what amounts to a full employment program for out of work politicians, did you?

Re:How shocking !

[macdaddy357]

If they are going to allow this, why don't they just make Rupert Murdoch and FCC Commissioner?

SBC is worse than Microsoft and Saddam combined

[Anonymous Coward]

If you buy services from them or otherwise supply them with money you will pay in the next life.

SBC isn't pure

[drokus]

SBC is a money hungry corp for sure. Everything they do is to benefit themselves. But, I don't believe any company should be forced to sell products or services to the competetion for less than it cost them to provide. No matter what business they are in.

Re:SBC isn't pure

[Anonymous Coward]

The question is less what SBC should be forced to sell than what the consumer should be forced to buy.

SBC has cannot manage the publicly owned wires. It is institutionally retarded, like the Chinese justice system. Talk to someone who works there. Look up the story of the dentist in San Antonio who noticed that SBC was getting rid of their pay phones all over town because "they weren't profitable" and started buying them up . . . he runs hundreds of pay phones with 1/10th the number of employees (and they cost on 25 cents instead of 50).

I wish there were a way I could block all SBC numbers from calling me. SBC has largely destroyed the idea of a national phone system; if I buy a nationwide pre-paid cell phone from AT&T, it doesn't work in many areas covered by SBC. I don't want to be part of any system they work with. I would very much like to see all SBC employees shaking cups on street corners and all SBC company officiers hanging from street lights.

Because of SBC, in Texas the minimum monthly cost of a local line is $22.99 a month (not from SBC of course) with the usual $9 or $10 of fraudulently labled "taxes" (oh, you thought that 911 connection fee and universal service charge went to the government ?) tacked on. In Massachusetts a local line can be had for $11 a month, and that's in an area where snow, ice, and tree branches actually mess up the lines now and then.

SBC overchanged Texans by $870 million last year. That's just Texas. Look at this report, page 75 of the pdf (60 of the document itself):

http://www.puc.state.tx.us/telecomm/reports/scope/ index.cfm

I have a relative who can't afford a telephone because this shit is allowed to go on. I'm paying too much to go with AT&T as a local line, it's better than SBC but even they lied about what my monthly bill would be. SBC and cronies are worse than Ebbers and Skilling/Lay, and should be killed along with those guys.

Re:SBC isn't pure

[Danse]

Yep, SBC is utterly repugnant. I happen to live in San Antonio, and I don't have a home phone anymore because I got sick of paying out the ass for it. I now have a cell and that's it. I have my own complaints about that, but at least I'm not getting raped by SBC for a phone line now.

Re:SBC isn't pure

[Danse]

Hmm.. I couldn't make much sense out of that document. Not sure what those numbers mean or how they are calculated. It does show that SBC elected into PURA Chpt 58, which according to the document means they aren't subject to rate restrictions. Since I have no idea what Chpt 58 or 59 are, I don't know what effect they have on SBC. Bah, I think they deliberately try to make this stuff impenetrable to anyone that isn't a politician with both law and engineering degrees. You'd need to have the law degree to decipher the terms, the engineering degree to understand the real-world effects, and be a politician to understand that stuff without becoming first violently ill and then deeply enraged.

Re:SBC isn't pure

[namespan]

Look up the story of the dentist in San Antonio who noticed that SBC was getting rid of their pay phones all over town because "they weren't profitable" and started buying them up . . . he runs hundreds of pay phones with 1/10th the number of employees (and they cost on 25 cents instead of 50).

Just google'd for this story using the terms "San Antonio pay|public phones dentist" and I'm not coming up with anything that looks promising. Any hints? (Newspaper, date range, other key words)?

Re:SBC isn't pure

[Kalak]

As much as it supports other companies that benefit from the FCC's latest attitudes, kill the land line if it costs that much. No land line and a cable modem will get them out of your life. Chances are, you've probably got a cell phone anyway, and if you're stuck using a modem, I'm sorry.

Just cut the ties if you don't like them.

Re:SBC isn't pure

[drokus]

>SBC has cannot manage the publicly owned wires.

I think you had better check into your "facts". SBC, bought the strand, cable and all of the electronics and paid for the installation as well as maintenance. Yet are forced to let anyone use it for far less than cost. The new comapny doesn't buy anything and SBC still has to maintain the system for them.

Re:SBC isn't pure

[Anonymous Coward]

Horseshit. You and I bought the strand, cable, and all the electronics and paid for the installation and maintenance. We also paid to lobby congress against our own best interests. We also paid for the television advertisements that SBC and Verizon bought to try and convince the FCC to screw us.

Re:SBC isn't pure

[Anonymous Coward]

Any thoughts on how to get a home secuity system to work with a cell phone. That is my last tie to the phone company, but so far I haven't been able to break it.

Powell

[Anonymous Coward]

Damnit. I was going to write a post about how family members aquiring government offices as being a bad thing but I can't remember the word for it! Maybe begins with a p?

Not powell. Wasn't suposed to be a pun. You know, the word for when a muture society ends up having offices filled with incompetant famiy and friends and such?

Re:Powell

[Silent_E]

Nepotism.

Nepotism

[Anonymous Coward]

Also known as "Mexican meritocracy"

Thank you

[Anonymous Coward]

That's the word.

Even worse...

[0x0d0a]

...this is taking place in the highly ethical and respected telecom field.