1hundredsixty8

I have arrived at the confluence of two streams of acquired information- what I have learned vicariously now commingles with what I have learned from experience.  To be specific, I am talking about wireless Internet access.

David Cay Johnston  covered much of the issues we face as Internet customers in a recent NY Times op-ed.  (It is a subject he also covers in his latest book, "The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use 'Plaing English" to Rob You Blind".) What I learned is that we, the United States, the nation that developed the Internet, now ranks 26th in the world in typical Internet speeds per customer, behind superpowers such as Bulgaria, Ukraine and Lithuania. At the same time, we pay the sixth highest median rates in the world for Internet data.  

I have also read with interest Susan P Crawford's excellent articles at Bloomberg View about the tropismatic movement towards market-rigging and monopoly of the outsized cable and wireless providers (Verizon, AT&T, ComCast, Time-Warner). Ms. Crawford covers in some detail the cleaving of the data market into wired and wireless segments.  Of course, this is not a new story in America. Tim Wu, in his thorough history of the information technology industry in this country, "The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires", defines the cycle wherein “History shows a typical progression of information technologies from somebody’s hobby to somebody’s industry; from jury-rigged contraption to slick production marvel; from a freely accessible channel to one strictly controlled by a single corporation or cartel — from open to closed system.”  

Onto experience. I received a text alert from Verizon Wireless last night (Dec 29) that I had used 50% of my monthly data allocation. The allocaction would be re-set on the 21st. In effect, in about 25% of the billing period, I had already used 10gig of the 20gig allotment. This, by the way, is at a monthly cost of $150 for the data plan. I do not dispute the usage- there has been much NetFlix viewing in the absence of cable television this week as we settle into our part-time winter residence. And I do work online. What was more starling to discover was that my overage charges, if and when I incur them, are at the rate of $15 per gig. This is twice the rate of the data plan. At the present usage rate, I could conceivably run up an additional $300 in data charges this month. Rates and cost aside, I should also point out that Verizon blocks the SIP softphone app on my laptop that I use as a business telephone extension of my open-source Asterisk VoIP telephone system back in NY. 

Comparison shopping: I called ComCast the other day. For basic cable TV and Internet, it would cost $75 per month. I could suspend service 6 months of the year for a price of $5 per month. Annual cost- about $480. 

Disclosure: I am a self-employed consultant working with clients who sell and install VoIP network equipment.