Bruce Kushnick New Networks Institute Reverse AT&T-ALEC

“They Will Not Close Down the Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) on My Watch. Period.” Welcome to Brooklyn

Ma Bell 1 million employees Owned the hardware, including the phones. Owned the 22 local phone companies. Owned AT&T Long Lines. Owned Bell Labs. Was regulated on local service prices. Not Regulated on Long Distance charges.

Judge Harold Greene

The Seven “Baby Bells”

Al Gore’s Information Superhighway, 1992

Telecom Act of 1996 Open the “Last Mile”. Lower prices and advanced services *(broadband) though competition. Allowed indie ISPs to use “line sharing” for DSL. Allow AT&T & MCI to offer local Service. If the networks were open, the Bells could enter long distance.

AT&T and Verizon Merger Mania at&t Southwestern Bell (SBC) Pacific Bell SNET Ameritech AT&T BellSouth Verizon Bell Atlantic NYNEX GTE MCI Alltel

3 Big Bells, No Competition.

Rise and Fall of Internet Service Providers

AT&T & Verizon AT&T U-Verse – Copper-to-the-Home Bait & Switch. Verizon has FiOS. – Fiber-to-the-home AT&T --only 4.3 million U-Verse TV Verizon only 4.7 million FiOS TV Digital Dead Zones: AT&T stopped deploying-abandoning 50%. Verizon stopped deploying -abandoning 50% NO CABLE COMPETITION.

America was Charged $360 Billion Dollars for Networks We Never Got. You Paid About $

Wireless Wireless: AT&T and Verizon split up the market– enhanced revenues– 200 million customers. Wireless is a wired product. Special Access 80%profits Collusion of wireline-wireless Deals with the cable companies.

Cable Companies? Lobby with the phone companies. Closed Networks – Can’t choose channels or video providers. Bandwidth caps to block outside video. Can’t replace Set Top Box. “Social Contract” – Customers Paid $42 Billion for Upgrades.

CommTrust-ALEC Close PSTN. 23 states removed telecom regulation. 19 states block municipalities. Damage: Remove “Carrier of Last Resort” – Phone breaks – too bad. Shut down remaining competitors. No Net Neutrality. Remove Regulatory Oversight.

Immediate Threat Federal: AT&T -FCC –Technical Advisory Council- ”Sunset the PSTN” AT&T Gets FCC Task Force started AT&T, USTA Petition filed -- Active Congressional Hearing Feb 6 th, 2013

12 Competitors– One Big Bell. 7 RBOCs Ameritech Bell Atlantic BellSouth NYNEX Pacific Bell Southwestern Bell US West Long Distance AT&T MCI ILECs SNET GTE Alltel

Why We Will Lose ALEC- key state legislators, whole legislatures. AT&T-funds state legislators AT&T ‘foundation’ grants –legislators Skunkworks: CommTrust -Skunkworks- multi-state “Legit” funded groups – Caucus Astroturf groups-multi-state Co-opted Non-profits Media has no clue

Our Side? No ‘other side’. AT&T is now at&t. Co-opted basic terms. No unified messaging. No Education No deep pockets. No ‘coordinated’ group response. Our allies can be our own enemies. –Tech and Internet community. –Unions, competitors, --- ‘middle ground’ No media campaign. Pot shots, small wins SOPA, etc. No Offensive Plan, Tit-for-Tat.

Reverse ALEC Which Future do you Want?

Read My Lips Privatized Public Property – Investigate. Upgrade the Networks – We Paid Them to do it. Open the Networks– Customers Choose their Internet, Phone, Cable or Broadband Provider. “Keep your hands off my bits.”