Teletruth and New Networks Institute Activities, 2004-2010

Data Quality and Small Business Issues at the FCC

• Teletruth & New Networks Institute Files Largest Omnibus Data Quality Act Complaints Against All FCC Proceedings Since 2000. Requests FCC Suspend All Current Proceedings Until the Data Is Fixed, July, 2010.

• Omnibus Data Quality Act Complaint Against All Phone, Broadband, Wireless, Cable and Internet Charges Since 2000.
• Omnibus Data Quality Act Complaint: Against All Broadband Data Since 2000.REQUEST: Customer-Funding of Broadband; Follow the Money for All Revenues Collected in the Name of Broadband since 2000.
• Omnibus Data Quality Act Complaint Against All Data Since 2000 Used in the Regulatory Flexibility Act Analyses in All Current Dockets in 2010.
• Harvard Nieman: 12 year old data is being used in the current FCC net neutrality proceeding --- bad data created bad policies, November 19^th, 2009

• Should the FCC be allowed to use data from 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, or 2002 for a current market small business impact study in 2008? October 6th, 2008, Teletruth files a Data Quality Act complaint, a Regulatory Flexibility Act complaint and a Section 257 complaint. --- The FCC's bad data harmed small competitors in every aspect of telecom, broadband and internet, wireless, spectrum, etc.
• Teletruth files Data Quality Act Complaint: FCC's DTV numbers are to fool America. FCC should take a class in basic statistics. September 24, 2008
• New study and real-world testing of over-the-air television (ota) viewers September 24, 2008
• FCC ruling strip-mines the requirements of data collection on AT&T, Verizon and Qwest. September 10, 2008. Bad data creates bad public policies - decision being made using 6 year-old data.
• Harms to small competitors: FCC "consequently, we estimate that the majority of these firms are small entities that may be affected by our action."
• Redacted: your rights. FCC data and order on local and long distance market harms VoIP, competition, and customers. August, 2007
• Data Quality Act Complaint: Bad FCC Data Created Bad Phone Policies.Report "AT&T and MCI (Verizon) Are Harvesting Customers" February 22, 2007 http://www.teletruth.org/docs/Dataqualityactharvesting.doc
• AT&T and Verizon customers hit with major phone price increases in New York, New Jersey, July 25, 2007
• FCC to kill thousands of ISPs with 8 year-old data! Garbage-in, kill-competitors-out. The FCC, on august 5th 2005, put out a press release "FCC eliminates mandated sharing requirement on incumbents' wireline broadband internet access services". (Link to release below). What this means is that the local bell phone companies no longer have to resell certain parts of their networks to internet service providers (ISP) — it is the "re-regulation" of the internet.How many ISPs will be put out of business? How does this help innovation in the US when you kill off thousands of innovative companies? August 17, 2005
• 38 million "broadband users" in the US? America leads the globe in "broadband connections"?
• Teletruth files against FCC's data — tell the truth about broadband! July 26th, 2005
• The AT&T-SBC, Verizon-MCI mergers. Death to competition.
• Investigate and break up SBC, break up Verizon.
• Comments: FCC in wc docket 05-65, May 10, 2005
• Bad FCC data results in bad laws -- and harm to broadband, competition and customers.
• To read the release:, To read these filings and other materials. October 21, 2004
• Teletruth and the National Internet Alliance (NIA) filed three data quality act challenges and a regulatory flexibility act challenge at the FCC as part of our triennial review comments.

Articles

• Alternet $320 Billion Broadband Rip-Off: How the Phone Companies Are Screwing America October 11th, 2010,
• The Universal Slush Fund: Or How Out of Control is the Government Phone Tax? Why does Beaver Creek gets over $10,000 a line?, September 20th, 2010
• Google and Verizon: Be afraid. Be very afraid.August 17th, 2010
• Comcast-GE-NBC Merger? , August 2010
• Harvard Nieman Watchdog: FCC: Multiple rate and tax increases, in the name of broadband
• Harvard Nieman: The new FCC chairman is making all the right promises. Can he fulfill them?, July 8, 2009

• "AT&T backs 100 percent broadband by 2014" -- liar, liar, pants on fire., June 15, 2009
• Harvard Nieman: Stimulate this: promising beginning—or they could be a new boondoggle for AT&T, Verizon and rural phone companies. February 3, 2009
• Broadband Opportunity - Job Creation, Healthcare, Education - Report from Deloitte & Touche, January 15^, 2009 http://www.newnetworks.com/deloittebroadband.htm
• AT&T and Verizon are manipulating access line losses. U-verse and FiOS not included in counts, among other problems. January 8, 2009
• Proposals for broadband infrastructure bailout of $44 billion --- (more taxes to give wealthy companies that failed to build out their networks.) January 2009
• The FCC is about to raise your phone rates and taxes through back-room dealings.
• October 28, 2008
• Is new York city and Verizon trying to slip one by you? May 20, 2008.
• Harvard Nieman: The FiOS ads say, ‘this is big!’ well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t, May 9, 2008
• Digital TV time bomb--hiding the whole picture from the American public., May 14, 2008
• Open infrastructure alliance (OIA) experts propose "the broadband opportunity plan for New York state" to fund and deliver 100 mbps-1 gigabit services for every New Yorker, and no new taxes.
• February 21, 2008
• Teletruth to Massachusetts broadband: where are the 330,000 lines of the $5 billion?, June 7, 2007
• Apple’s iPhone is telecom bling -- Reporters missed: what's hidden in AT&T’s wireless 'fine print'?, July, 2007
• Dear Senator Kerry, Congressmen Markey, and Governor Patrick. Massachusetts was duped by Verizon about previous fiber optic deployments --- investigate, then get the money back. April 26, 2007
• Stop FCC-Missoula: stop the FCC line charge increase to $10.00, phone rate hikes Harvard Nieman watchdog article., January 30, 2007
• For low-volume users, phone costs have risen sharply despite phone company pledges to reduce charges, meanwhile, FCC chairman says rates are in a free-fall.
• Harvard Nieman: 426% increase in Verizon New York City local phone service. ---aunt Ethel was harmed. September 18, 2006
• Harvard Nieman. For low-volume users, phone costs have risen sharply. January 4, 2007
• Bogus new surcharge on Verizon DSL bills harms customers twice. August 22, 2006
• New series on America’s wrong path in telecommunications, internet, broadband and wireless services. Harvard's Nieman School of Journalism Watchdog project is publishing a series of articles about America’s broadband, internet and telecom future written by TeleTruth’s Bruce Kushnick. "The Nieman watchdog journalism project grows from this premise and this goal: to help the press ask penetrating questions, critical questions, questions that matter, questions not yet asked about today's news." August 1, 2006
• Senate to raise your USF phone taxes 200%? Stop this bill. June 22, 2006
• Verizon’s FiOS, AT&T's LightSpeed - the rise of the crippled networks., June 13, 2006
• Dear senate: investigate this: America is 16th in broadband and basing our nation's future on inferior products that may never show up will be bad for our economic growth and technological edge. More importantly - we already paid over $200 billion in excess fees? What happened to the money and our promised fiber optic future?
• Wireless spectrum fraud by AT&T, Verizon, and Cingular -- are they very small businesses?
• Very large phone companies have been able to create 'fake fronts' to bid on wireless spectrum as very small businesses? Is this fraud?
• The death of VoIP?
• Verizon’s second quarter report, 2004 -- a new comedy? The joke is on us. August 28, 2004 It's the end of the summer and for light summer reading i decided to pick up the Verizon second quarter report for 2004...
• Get ready to be nickeled, dimed and quartered again! New proposed taxes, surcharges on phone bills and broadband. August 17, 2004, If the FCC's intercarrier compensation forum, (icf) has its way, every residential and business local phone bill will show an increase of the FCC subscriber line charge ("SLC" and other names) from a current cap of $6.50 to over $10.00 a month, not counting hefty taxes. To make matters worse, this industry group also wants to raise customers' universal service charges on everything from local service to even cable and DSL services -- new broadband taxes.
• Universal broadband service from Verizon--- Waiting for Godot is more useful. Verizon's recent announcement to deploy fiber-optic services is just another ploy to remove regulations and make more money. It's a shame Verizon never delivered on their original promises since 1992 to rewire most of their territories with fiber-to-the home by now. August, 2004

Speaking Engagements And Events

• Kushnick speaks at broadband breakfast club, “setting the table for the national broadband plan,” Concerns and next steps for America’s broadband future., Sept. 15, 2009
• GFOA meeting on Verizon property taxes, august x
• Community broadband
• NATOA conference, phone bill auditing, Tom Allibone
• Has divestiture worked? A 25th anniversary assessment of the break up of AT&T. Open Infrastructure Alliance (OIA) and ISOC-NY. See the event! May 5, 2009
• Testifying in New Jersey: Are 80% increases to local service by Verizon, New Jersey fair and reasonable? Are they funding FiOS? , June 24, 2008
• Teletruth to New York City broadband committee in Brooklyn: get $5-$12 billion back., May 27, 2007
• Teletruth testifies in front of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Verizon bilked customers $5-$6 billion for fiber optic broadband cover-up: get $2000 per household in refunds before accepting franchise application, December 2005
• Now online: Moyers on America presents "The Net at Risk". PBS, (click on watch "net at risk)
• Teletruth's Bruce Kushnick and Tom Allibone are featured in "the new digital divide" segment.
• Broadband AT&T: put up or break up: 19 million homes by 2008?

Astroturf, Skunkworks and Sock Puppets

• And now a word from our sponsors. Congressmen, senators and minority groups getting paid by AT&T, Verizon and the cablecos to block net neutrality?, October 19, 2009
• Another stink tank production: new millennium research council (NMRC) releases cellphone report. Conclusion: give cellphones to the poor via government funding., April 2, 2008
• Telco-astroturf group --new millennium--critiques "stink tanks": we respond, Oct 15, 2007
• Harvard Neiman The age of the stink tanks: corporate-funded research designed to influence public policy, October 01, 2007
• Harvard Nieman Press gives a free pass to citizens groups allied with telecoms May 07, 2007
• At a new jersey utilities board hearing on cable franchises, three guys from Verizon – the elephant in the room – go unnoticed by the regulators, and by the press.
• Harvard Nieman article:  Verizon, AT&T and the manipulation of public opinion. Needed: blacks, Hispanics, disabled, deaf, low-income and the elderly to support the telecoms’ positions on anti-consumer FCC rulings and legislation. April 04, 2007
• More about the groups in the release: April 04, 2007
• Bell skunkworks 101 --- know your astroturf April 04, 2007
• Ethics in telecommunications awards presented by astroturf group. "United Church of Christ a stooge for the baby bells?" September 12, 2006
• Fake phone company consumer group: increase universal service fund (USF), tax VoIP, influence FCC Main page, read alert!
• Letter to FCC chairman, April 25, 2005 Teletruth, with New Networks Institute, exposes the bell phone company skunkworks, sock puppets and astroturf groups that have harmed the public interest --- (phone companies: sac, Verizon, Bellsouth)
• New site: with updates Bell skunkworks 101 --- know your astroturf, April 25, 2005
• Who controls the FCC? Teletruth files request for a congressional investigation of the control of the FCC consumer advisory committee by telecommunications business interests. Read more, including the press release and complaint. February 3, 2005

 FCC Filings And Court Cases

• Small biz regs. Failed to protect competitors, harming economy, customers ---reopen line sharing, wholesale UNE-p, wireless spectrum., September 8, 2009
• Fullcomments And Case Study: http://www.teletruth.org/docs/TeletruthRFA.pdf, September 8, 2009
• Teletruth requests the FCC create a new broadband workshop --- investigate current and past public funding of broadband, including overcharging utility customers., August 12, 2009
• Comments to the FCC on a National Broadband Strategy. (GN Docket No. 09-51), June 8, 2009
• http://www.newnetworks.com/FCCbroadbandcomments.htm
• Comments: FCC Proposed Cable Franchise Plan & Chairman Martin's Speech.
• http://www.teletruth.org/docs/fccfranchise.doc (filed 12/13/06, 23pages)
• Complaint: FCC 200K Broadband Definition Fails Telecom Act Statutes for Video.
• http://www.newnetworks.com/fcccomplaint200k.htm December 18, 2006
• Complaint: FCC 1995 Video Data Showed Millions of Lines - What Happened? http://www.newnetworks.com/fcc1995competition.htm December 18, 2006
• Verizon New Jersey settles class action alleging overbilling for special circuits. Teletruth sets up customer hotline: are you owed money from Verizon, no?   circuits info page: press release, faq, fact sheet, other links  Note: this is the 2nd Verizon, no class action suit settlement teletruth has worked on., October 2006
• Complaint: Wireless Spectrum Fraud by AT&T, Cingular (SBC & BellSouth), Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint? Are these "Very Small Businesses"?
• http://www.teletruth.org/docs/wirelesscomplaintfin.pdf

Mergers:

• Competition: FCC can't create enforceable merger conditions. FCC/bells harmed competition --- 43% drop in wholesale lines. The mergers eliminated competitors. Comments FCC: AT&T-BellSouth Merger, WC Docket No. 06-74, October 24, 2006
• Broadband Issues of the AT&T-BellSouth Merger http://www.newnetworks.com/TeletruthAT&TBellSouth.htm, October 24, 2006
• Put Up or Break Up: 19 Million Homes by 2008, October 24, 2006 FTC complaint for commercial speech, deceptive practices in mergers, Teletruth files this complaint with the FTC, claiming that the previous bell mergers were based on a massive, 10-year pattern of misrepresentation, untruthful and outright fraudulent statements made to customers. How many misleading, deceptive or fraudulent statements does it take to become a case of fraud? to read the release to read this complaint, to read the mini-report on sac’s mergers (PDF), to take action and read more, October 27, 2005

• Break up SBC, break up Verizon Teletruth requests congress start immediate investigations into the previous bell mergers.
• Do not let 2 companies control America’s digital future! --- More materials.
• Teletruth sends letter to judge Sullivan regarding the bell-AT&T-MCI merger review. July 19, 2006
• The bell mergers harmed broadband deployment, competition and the economy.
• To read our analysis: splat: the FCC kills the telecom act. Humpty dumpty put back together again and screws 17 million people --- are you one of them?
• FCC line charge should be removed from all phone bills, teletruth charges. Teletruth files first complaint under the data quality act at FCC — the FCC line charge increases had inadequate cost support — quintuple taxed as well. Teletruth files second petition with the FCC over "truth-in-billing"— FCC line charge doesn't go to fund the FCC.
• To read the press release, Read the complaints, June 1, 2004

Books, Reports, and Papers.

• Two free ebooks: national broadband plan -- get the $300 billion dollars back from AT&T, Verizon and quest, open all networks., June 8, 2009
• 25 year analysis of key financial indictors for the bell companies - AT&T, Verizon and quest. (63 pages), May 13, 2009
• Deregulation and consolidation have harmed telephone and broadband customers.
• Ca phone bill survey reveals market failure: less choice equals continuous rate increases., April, 2009
• Broadband opportunity - job creation, healthcare, education - Report from Deloiotte & touché -- and the stimulus plans.
• Killing off 7000 independent internet service (sips) providers by the FCC created net neutrality problems, November 29, 2007
• 56% drop in wireline competition since 2004. November 15, 2007
• AT&T and MCI-Verizon harvesting customers: harm 1/3 of us households: FCC data flaws harm the public interest. February 26, 2007
• Phone Bill Independence, August 28, 2004
  Taken directly from New York and New Jersey phone bills, from missing discounts, hidden revenues to the phone companies quintuple taxation or truth-in-billing violations, not to mention raising rates, it is clear that phone bill charges are out of control.
• The Dirty, Little, Secret Lives of Phone Bills. April, 21, 2004. Valerie Simpson, an investigative reporter, is assigned the task of answering: "why are there all these little charges on the phone bill?" dirty little secrets covers how to read your local phone bill, how to file a complaint, and the good and bad about bundled packages. It also examines the regulations surrounding phone bills, the skunk-works and astroturf groups that control the telecom and broadband agenda, and numerous uninvestigated scandals that have cost customers hundreds of dollars in excess phone charges.