Re: BellSouth does it again...
Richard_R.Moore (MOORERR@msu.edu)
Wed, 20 Nov 96 17:41 EST
Of course, you really need to take "cost of providing dialtone" with some
grains of salt in a regulated industry. How much the cost is "true" cost will
depend very much upon the skills and "independance" of the regulator. Since a
regulated industry is guaranteed a fixed rate of return, they have little
motivation to save money -- in fact they may be encouraged to make their costs
higher than necessary. Then again, necessary is in the eye of the spender.
For example, i could bury "super-dooper, titainium-clad" conduit at $100 a
foot or i could use ordinary conduit at $1 a foot. Since i am guaranteed 8%
return, if i use the expensive conduit, i get 8 dollars, while the ordinary
conduit only gets me 8 cents. Now this "super-dooper" conduit will even
resist ditch digging equipment, so it is obviously necessary (as i tell the
local PSC).