I was thinking at the more micro level regarding the features. Look at all the included features on a Fusion voice line. While I really appreciate (and use!) Caller-ID, Call Waiting, 3-way calling (just to name a few), the cost to obtain those features on an AT&T line is almost equal to the voice "half" of a Fusion line.klui wrote:Most people have no choice when they only have one telco, one satellite, and one cable company in their area instead of true competition. That's why they continue using these providers. And if you're a provider that basically has no competitors in terms of price, you can dictate where you can gouge your customers--by tiering serivce, bandwidth caps, charging extra for internet-only service, nickle and dime them.
If people didn't subscribe to the services at the current price, AT&T and the other ILECs would cut the prices to stimulate demand. Since the prices continue to rise, it would appear the demand is already sufficiently high.
Even more ironic is watching AT&T increase the cost of a landline, even as more people are dropping them in favor of using only a cell phone.