how to raise the phone bill of the average new jersey family

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CONCLUSIONNew Jersey should be proud that its regulators have delivered the lowest phone rates for low-income residentsand the best access to cutting-edge broadband Internet of any state – yet the New Jersey legislature is threateningto undermine the system of regulation that delivered these key goals of telecom policy. S 2664 is likely to raisephone rates, weaken quality of service and leave state consumers vulnerable if Verizon sells off its landline phoneservice to another company.Landline local phone deregulation has failed across the country — delivering higher costs to consumers andworse service. States that have implemented local landline deregulation have seen large increases in phone rates,often in the double-digits and for some services, prices have more than doubled following deregulation. Andwithout regulatory enforcement, consumers have found that they have little recourse in enforcing their rights.In particular, the multiple bankruptcies of landline subsidiaries sold-off by Verizon across the country highlightthe need for vigilant regulators protecting the public interest. Taxpayers and consumers in multiple stateshave been left with degraded service because of Verizon selling off local telephone assets to undercapitalizedcompanies. New Jersey regulators need to remain in the position to protect consumers during the sell-off oflandline assets, as state regulators in West Virginia and Washington were able to do because regulators wereempowered to do so.There are still too few local phone service competitors for competition by itself to prevent price manipulationand gouging by oligopolistic companies that dominate local phone markets. The debacles in banking andelectricity deregulation across the country should make legislators cautious in rushing into any kind ofderegulation. Good regulation in fact is needed to encourage useful competition and protect consumers frompredatory behavior by companies.Ultimately, S 2664 is a bad deal for New Jersey that will just replicate failed phone deregulation experimentsaround the country.15 How To Raise The Phone Bill Of The Average New Jersey Family: What S 2664 Will Do To NJ Consumers
APPENDIXLOW-INCOME LIFELINE TELEPHONE RATES IN SAMPLE CITIES(AS OF OCTOBER 15, 2007)STATE CITY PROVIDER LIFELINE RATENEW JERSEY PHILLIPSBURG VERIZON 2.15Texas Corpus Christi AT&T 3.61Texas Brownsville AT&T 4.03District of Columbia Washington Verizon 4.48Texas San Antonio AT&T 4.99Texas Houston AT&T 5.26Utah Logan Qwest 5.36Texas Fort Worth AT&T 5.59California Anaheim AT&T 5.63California Bakersfield AT&T 5.63California Fresno AT&T 5.63California San Diego AT&T 5.63California San Francisco AT&T 5.63Missouri Mexico AT&T 5.75California Long Beach Verizon 5.77Alaska Anchorage ACS 5.85California San Jose AT&T 5.90California San Bernadino Verizon 5.92New Mexico Alamogordo Qwest 5.97California Oakland AT&T 6.04California Los Angeles AT&T 6.18Colorado Denver Qwest 6.18Colorado Boulder Qwest 6.34Colorado Colorado Springs Qwest 6.46Texas Dallas AT&T 7.18Florida Tampa Verizon 7.37Montana Butte Qwest 7.43Oregon Corvallis Qwest 7.45Tennessee Memphis AT&T 7.74Tennessee Nashville AT&T 7.74South Carolina Beaufort Embarq 7.77Florida Miami AT&T 7.86Oregon Portland Qwest 7.86Florida West Palm Beach AT&T 7.94Ohio Canton AT&T 8.03Ohio Columbus AT&T 8.05Ohio Toledo AT&T 8.09Ohio Cleveland AT&T 8.16Missouri St. Louis AT&T 8.17Missouri Kansas City AT&T 8.29Massachusetts Boston Verizon 9.01Massachusetts Hyannis Verizon 9.01Massachusetts Springfield Verizon 9.01Pennsylvania New Castle Verizon 9.15Maryland Baltimore Verizon 9.20Virginia Richmond Verizon 9.44Washington Seattle Qwest 9.59Arizona Tucson Qwest 9.72Maine Portland Verizon 9.87Pennsylvania Scranton Verizon 9.94Washington Everett Verizon 10.24Georgia Albany AT&T 10.30Ohio Cincinnati Cincinnati Bell 10.37Nathan Newman | Richard Brodsky 16
Page 1 and 2: H O W T O R A I S E T H E P H O N E
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSExecutive Summary
Page 5 and 6: »»However, Regulatory Oversight A
Page 8: S 2664 Deregulates the Whole Landli
Page 13 and 14: HOW STRONG REGULATORY SUPERVISION O
Page 15 and 16: V. S 2664’S RUSH TO DEREGULATE IS
Page 17: Similarly, VoIP services provided o
Page 21 and 22: RESIDENTIAL TELEPHONE RATES IN SAMP
Page 23 and 24: BROADBAND SPEED DOWNLOADS GREATER T
Page 25 and 26: ENDNOTES1. Reference Book of Rates,
Page 28: 220 Fifth Ave., 2nd Floor | New Yor

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