Thank God internet companies are doing something about the sorry tactics of the wireless companies (all of which stink) and the FCC, which has the dubious distinction of doing all it can for business and not the consumer.

I have had so many bad experiences with cell phone companies that I have seriously considered boycotting them altogether. My own phone is used for emergencies only. Why add stress to my life?

I will be standing by to see what the future holds. There's always hope...

It feels like a long, long time since courts or regulatory authorities made decisions in detriment to the big, old-economy corporate interests, and it doesn't seem likely to me that it will fall that way this time, but all power to them if they can do it.

The fact that the question is even in doubt can only indicate that finally, a new generation is gaining control of the levers of society; companies like Google represent real power in the hands of someone other than a Baby Boomer.

Living in Australia, I know how these things will always fall - the dinosaurs in government will push things in favour of the largest, oldest corporation to hand, with no reference to social good, consumer good or even economic benefit. I hope the FCC can set a better example.

Thanks for the summary, Mr. Manjoo--this is indeed an important issue that everyone should be aware of. There is always an irony in listening to companies cry "corporate welfare" when their opponents will benefit; in this case, if the government were to follow precedent and allow only the cell companies to bid on the new spectrum, the precedent would still be limiting the free market in the way that Verizon and other cell companies describe. By opening the spectrum to internet companies (and hopefully anyone else who wants to use this spectrum), the government seems to be promoting free competition by, in essence, making the access to resources more open. In other words, companies only support the "free market" and decry "corporate welfare" when policies benefit their opponents over their own interests.

So Verizon and ATT "compete" with each other in the following way:

Verizon offers $100 a month in cell/data plans.

ATT offers $99.99 a month in cell/data plans.

Wow! What a huge competition that is radically driving down prices! Somebody stop the price war before they start giving it away for free. :-)

The big joke about the free market is that none of these guys ever truly compete with each other. There is a gentleman's agreement that, yes, they will set the ass-rape monthly charge at a certain rate and each company is free to fluctuate within five to ten dollars of that set rate.

And if ALL your competitors can get away with charging $100 a month (for example) -- why on earth would ANY company charge only $40 a month for the same service, even if they could do it and still make a modest profit?? If the market will bear $100 and if everyone else is doing $100, then why would you voluntarily cut your profits? They wouldn't. They've set up a defacto monopoly simply by virtue of the fact that they all generally charge the exact same price for the exact same service.

Which is why they are going nuts (and willing to do whatever it takes) to stop real competitors (like Skype) from threatening their monopoly. Can and will Skype provide service for much, much, much less than ATT? Yup. It ATT happy about this competition? Nope. Is ATT going to improve itself to compete -- or are they going to rig the game so Skype can't even get in the game. If you answered "rig the game" you win a cigar.

Same with gas stations: there are at least 6 gas stations within a three mile radius of my home.

And yet, magically, they all charge the exact same price although one firebrand went rouge and (gasp!) charged a penny less then the others.

Will Google be able to defeat the god-kings that rule us?

Unlikely. Google may be powerful, but not even Google cannot withstand the total power of ATT, Verion and the rest. They are simply too strong to be defeated.

Google's dream of freeing the airwaves is just a dream.

We will all be paying $100 a month for the rest of our lives.

I am troubled by the analogy to Big Oil. Not only are the prices all the same but you are required to get a fillup once a month-whether you need it or not. Likewise, your contract prohibits you from getting it from the company who is a little cheaper this month. Not only that, they determine what phone you can buy and cripple its features. Can you imagine if the Oil companies dictated the kind of car you drove and charged you extra to use the radio? Big Oil can learn alot from these guys.

I'm so sick and tired of the communications cartels in this country- it makes me sick. Would that the bastion of free-market capitalism actually practiced it!

Not technically. Technically they are Cartels, which is just a word for 'small group of entities who enjoy a monopoly'. The Anti-Trust laws in this country are a joke, most expecially in the areas of communications and networking. I don't see how any of it can be differentiated anymore- the voice from the data from the GPS- no matter how much profit these robber-barons will lose. Burn 'em down, I say.

"Fortunately, Kevin Martin, the Republican chairman of the FCC, seems to be listening."

Hey, finally something that the Republicans might not totally fuck up!

What happened to the good old days when people simply did their jobs---and did them in the best, most honest way possible?

My goodness. Whatever next?

There's a simple solution if you dislike being reamed up the pipehole for cellphone usage: don't use it. Really. I've managed to live a perfectly functional life for nearly half a century without owning, and very rarely using, one of those execrable little things. Never have I understood why anyone would chain themselves to a device that makes it possible to be bothered at all hours, no matter where you are, annoys practically everyone around you as you prove to the world that you're a self-centered jerk every time you start yammering on it in some completely improper public setting, and eats up horrendous amounts of money every month. ($100 for a phone? Are they fucking NUTS?) All this just to worship at the altar of the Great God Convenience.

Meanwhile, public pay phones are falling apart (where they even exist anymore), making it impossible for those who can't AFFORD those horrid little things to make a simple call. Public life is fast becoming hell as good manners become more and more rare. (Carrying on a cellphone conversation in public is simply RUDE, period).

How did things come to this? What is it about those gizmos that makes the majority of people think they can't live without them? Other than the possibility of having to phone in an emergency, I can't imagine what the attraction could be. I'm put in mind of secretaries who can't imagine how they lived without Post-It notes, as if these things somehow matter in the larger scheme of things.

But hey, knock yourselves out. If you love the "convenience" of being able to check what your SO wants to watch tonight while you're at the vid store, to the tune of paying insane amounts of money every month, go right ahead. But seeing as how none of this is actually necessary for survival, perhaps the wailing and gnashing of teeth over pricing is a bit misplaced. AT&T, Verizon, et.al. are just doing what corporations do - being as rapacious as possible in pursuit of the big bucks. If you don't like it, just throw the damn thing away. Problem solved.