California Epiphany

CALIFORNIA EPIPHANY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] How much competition is there in U.S. telecommunications? So much that even California regulators have finally noticed. Last week the state's Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 to lift decades-old price controls on land-line phone companies. The move was instigated by Rachelle Chong, who was appointed to the PUC in January by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R). According to a Los Angeles Times report, this is the first time in 18 years that California has altered its rate structure. Think about all that has happened in telecom in the past two decades, from the proliferation of wireless devices to Internet telephony, and you get some idea of how far past due these changes were. The good news is that these state regulators have finally acknowledged that competition in telecom abounds, that free-markets work, and that holding residential phone bills below actual cost is silly in today's brave new telecom world. The other good news is that if even California regulators can come to this realization, anyone can.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115671978346246832.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
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