Phone giants' rising rates questioned

PHONE GIANTS' RISING RATES QUESTIONED
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
AT&T and Verizon are raising prices for caller ID and other popular phone services by as much as 300%, even as they continue to push regulators to loosen up because of increased competition. AT&T and Verizon have argued they need pricing flexibility to compete with cable TV and others offering Internet-based phone services. Dozens of states have acquiesced, giving carriers freedom to jack up prices. Mindy Spatt, communications director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a consumer advocacy group in California, says the increases speak to the market power of AT&T and Verizon. In truly competitive markets, "Prices go down, not up," she says.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20080128/1b_att28.art.htm