Bernie Sanders unveils plan to break up telecom companies and launch universal broadband access

[TexasTowelie]

22. Really?

I can almost anywhere and get a phone plan for about $50/month that not only provides unlimited long distance calling in the US, but also unlimited texts and 2 GB of free high-speed data. Furthermore, I can take that phone almost everywhere so that I can stay in contact while I'm travelling and keep the battery charged while I'm on the bus or anywhere that has an electrical outlet.

About 30 years ago after I graduated from college, I was stuck with a land line, paid for each long distance call, had no text messaging and could not receive any data. The only thing that you could do with a phone was call people--there was no streaming video or Internet connection. My phone bill was usually about $75/month and represented about 7% of my income. If my vehicle broke down on the side of the road I was pretty much screwed and I would have to walk miles to get to a pay phone where I could call for assistance. By almost any metric, I think that I'm getting a far better deal now than I did 30 years ago.

So what is this shitty expensive second rate system that you are grumbling about? The phone bill accounts for about 2% of my budget instead of 7% and the services have improved significantly. The only complaint that I had in reference to my cell phone service was when Hurricane Harvey came through and the local government took control of the cell phone towers for somewhere between 24 and 36 hours because of the emergency conditions. I still had Internet service on my desktop computer other than for about 45 minutes between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. when the hurricane came through the area.

When I consider those factors, the fact that I could choose the equipment that I desired, the phone company I desired, and the calling plan I desired, I think that I came out ahead after deregulation.