[OT] Verizon/FairPoint sale (was: Comcast!?!?)

[Mark E. Mallett]

On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 04:46:53PM -0500, Bill McGonigle wrote:
> On Nov 16, 2007, at 11:13, Ed lawson wrote:

> > Regarding telcos, the one thing I seldom see discussed is the fact
> > years ago they got a huge tax break premised on the promise to  
> > create a
> > plant providing broadband that was as extensive as the existing copper
> > plant.  They reaped the windfall, did not deliver their end of the
> > bargain, and now they are..well we see don't we.  So the
> > taxpayer/customer gets to pay twice?
> 
> Hey, it was only $200B of tax money:
> 
>    http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070810_002683.html
> 

It's not really seldom-discussed :)

Bruce Kushnick has been telling that story for a good long time (e.g. on
the cybertelecom-l mailing list -- there's a link to the list on
www.cybertelecom.org).  You can find his stuff at www.teletruth.org (it
can be a bit over the top).

mm