On 5 January 2012 15:22, Jay Ashworth <j...@baylink.com> wrote: > Understand: I'm not saying that FiOS should be a human right. But as a > society, America's recognized for decades that you gotta have a telephone, > and subsidized local/lifeline service to that extent; that sort of subsidy > applies to cellular phones now as well. > > There is a subtlety here too - when we grant a monopoly (e.g. to operate a physical loop or in licensing spectrum) in return we often place a "universal service obligation" on the operator in order they don't abuse their monoply by not providing service to "less profitable" customers.
This isn't the same as a "right" to a phone. Aled
