For the 50 percent to 60 percent of U.S. households that make minimal long-distance calls, have a single phone line and don't yet use the Internet at home, the bundles will probably have little appeal. Pac Bell on bandwagon Pacific Bell is on the broadband bandwagon, too, as are several smaller competitors. Tele-Communications Inc. By the end of the year, it plans to launch a second trial in an undisclosed Bay Area community, plus eight other trials around the country. While such packages can be a good deal for consumers who regularly make a lot of toll calls, sporadic callers would often wind up paying for minutes they don't use. Second, the deals will get sweeter the bigger the bundle is.
Some consumer advocates worry about the focus on bundling.
Natalie Billingsley, a regulatory analyst for the California Public Utility Commission's Office of Ratepayer Advocates, said that the consumers with a basic home phone line are paying the vast majority of the network costs associated with broadband services. Studying the deal Lawmakers and other federal officials are expected to scrutinize the MediaOne deal, which must pass muster with the Federal Communications Commission and either the Justice Department or Federal Trade Commission. Among those in Congress who are casting a critical eye are Sen. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Republican who chairs the Senate subcommittee on antitrust issues, and Rep. Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Democrat who chairs the House subcommittee on telecommunications. The FCC attempted to limit each cable operator to serving no more than 30 percent of the U.S. market, but a federal court declared that constraint unconstitutional. Still, Armstrong said yesterday that he's willing to trade away some of his cable systems if needed to come under the 30 percent threshold.