AT&T customers looking for better service need to put down those cellphones and turn off the computer and pick up a good book.  AT&T recommends Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America From Washington, written by Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Perry’s book, which compares Social Security and FDR’s “New Deal” social programs with a Communist takeover is so popular with the Big Telecom, it purchased over 700 copies to hand out for free to state legislators, lobbyists and activists attending a conservative policy summit luncheon.  Oh, and the company paid for the lunch, too.  Total cost?  More than $13,000 — all ultimately paid for by AT&T’s customers.

AT&T made sure every guest had their own personal hardcover copy of the governor’s book, something that didn’t go unnoticed by former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, who thanked AT&T from the microphone for paying for the books.

“Governor Perry has written a book – a book that all of us very kindly have been given by AT&T,” Cruz said. “Thank you, AT&T.”

AT&T’s gladhanding of conservative state politicians doesn’t come accidentally, reports the Dallas Morning News.  With hundreds of millions in revenue at stake, AT&T’s investment in the state’s Republican dominated legislature guarantees the company’s voice will be heard on important legislative matters.

AT&T has spent as much as $9.3 million to lobby Austin lawmakers and regulators, according to Texas Ethics Commission data. AT&T’s political action committee has donated $494,740 to Perry during his nine years in office, according to Texans for Public Justice.

The latter group told the newspaper AT&T doesn’t get into the book club business lightly.

“It does raise concerns. AT&T has a lot of business before the state of Texas and Texas regulators,” said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a group that tracks money in politics. “They are generally the largest lobby in the state. They can reach out and touch every lawmaker simultaneously.”

Elected officials who write books routinely find some of their biggest sales come from lobbyists, who buy books in bulk and hand them out at public speaking engagements, or simply shove them into the nearest storage locker.  It’s not about the book, it’s about the access companies like AT&T gain from the goodwill earned from buying copies.

Perry does not profit directly from the book sales, but his political interests do.  Proceeds of the book sales go to the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Tenth Amendment Studies, a group dedicated to protecting corporate interests and “state’s rights.”

AT&T’s corporate interest is protected by the Policy Foundation’s opposition to Net Neutrality, but the group generally opposes broadband stimulus funding, some of which is likely to end up in AT&T’s pockets.

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Texas Public Policy Foundation Net Neutrality.flv[/flv]

The Texas Public Policy Foundation invited two Republican FCC commissioners — one current and one former — to bash Net Neutrality and broadband reforms before a stacked panel and audience of like-minded thinkers.  (1 hour, 50 minutes)

An upset borough president

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is calling on New York City’s telecommunications workers to be pressed into service to cope with the snow emergency created by a weekend blizzard that left more than two feet of snow in parts of New York and New Jersey.

Markowitz told WABC-TV news the mayor’s response to the storm was a “royal screw-up” and he’s angry Manhattan streets are bare while outer boroughs like his contend with roads that have not seen a plow since the storm began.

“Verizon, Cablevision, Time Warner — we need men and women that are healthy and able-bodied,” Markowitz appealed on air.  “Twelve bucks an hour — that’s a lot of money — up to fifteen bucks an hour, to be able to help our Sanitation Department clean out streets.”

“We need every available vehicle you’ve got to help clean this place up,” said Markowitz. “I want as to look as good as Broadway in Manhattan — clean it like Broadway in Manhattan, no more and no less.”

These Verizon trucks won't be of much help, stuck in an intersection in Queens.

Much of the city remains under difficult driving conditions because of abandoned vehicles left in the middle of streets and a lack of plowing.  Disruptions to electric, phone and cable service have been reported because of accidents, damage done by snow removal vehicles, and moisture-related equipment failures.

Pressing companies like Verizon and Time Warner into service may not provide much assistance, considering vehicles belonging to both companies were themselves stuck in many locations around the city.

For residents upstate, already dealing with record-breaking snowfalls in December, the chaos downstate is mystifying.  Residents in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse have another word for the holiday blizzard: Sunday.

The three cities continue their annual competition for the Golden Snowball Award for the upstate community left with the most white stuff:

Golden Snowball Totals for the 2010 – 2011 Snowfall Season
Updated  12/27/2010

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WABC New York City Copes With Storm Aftereffects 12-28-10.flv[/flv]

WABC-TV provides the views of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, as well as a roundup of the lightning-hot anger being felt by an increasing number of New Yorkers stuck at home because of unplowed streets. (17 minutes)

Sanders

Sen. Bernie Sanders has challenged FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s view that a merger between NBC-Universal and Comcast would not harm America’s media landscape or consumers.  The independent senator from Vermont released a statement today blasting the chairman for rolling over for another media conglomerate:

The FCC released some very bad news for the future of American media and, in my view, for the future of American democracy.  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has circulated an order that would allow Comcast, the country’s largest cable and Internet provider, to merge with NBC Universal, one of the country’s largest media conglomerates.

If approved, this new media giant will be the largest cable provider, the largest Internet provider, and one of the largest producers of content in the United States.  At a time when a small number of giant media corporations already control what the American people see, hear, and read, we do not need another media conglomerate with control over the production and distribution of media content.  What we need is less concentration of ownership, more diversity, more local ownership-and more viewpoints.

By law, the FCC may only sign off on the merger if it determines that it serves ‘the public interest, convenience, and necessity.’ Far from meeting the public interest standard, Comcast’s takeover of NBCU would create a monolithic media superpower and cause irreparable damage to the U.S. media landscape and society as a whole. In addition, the merger of these two media giants would likely precipitate other media mergers and make an already bad situation of media consolidation far worse.  Despite the public interest standard, Chairman Genachowski appears to be charging ahead, pressuring his fellow commissioners to approve this deal.

Some take solace in the fact that Chairman Genachowski’s order would approve the merger only subject to certain conditions and regulations.  This in no way changes my opinion about the scope of the damage.  If this merger is approved, I have little doubt that Comcast-NBCU will retain hundreds of attorneys and lobbyists to exploit gaps and loopholes in any conditions and regulations.  Once we allow companies to become this powerful, the FCC does not regulate them.  They regulate the FCC.

Time is running out to stop this deal.  I hope the American people will take notice and stand with me to demand that the FCC change course, vote down the order, and reverse the disturbing trend of media consolidation.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Sanders on Comcast 12-2-10.flv[/flv]

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont appeals to Americans to join him in opposing the merger of Comcast and NBC-Universal.  (2 minutes)

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]HTTP://WWW.phillipdampier.com/video/KTVX Salt Lake City Comcast for the Holidays 12-22-10.flv[/flv]

Salt Lake City’s local ABC affiliate never runs out of wonderful things to say about Comcast, the area’s dominant cable company. KTVX devoted more than four minutes of airtime last week to a puff piece promoting Comcast’s cable products.

It’s just the latest example of the blurring of the line between journalism and ingratiating sponsors by lending the station’s news talent out to shill for advertisers.

Included in the ‘Good Things Utah’ segment, an extended interview with Comcast’s Ray Child, who was encouraged to rattle on about all of the wonderful things Comcast/Xfinity offers local residents.  The two cheerleaders hosts presiding over the affair offered nothing but extended praise, although one host may have touched the third rail when she mentioned “monopoly.”  (4 minutes)

Frontier Communications continues to deliver monthly headaches to many of their customers in the form of wildly inaccurate bills that take months and repeated calls to correct.

Complaints are piling up on websites like My3Cents, particularly from ex-Verizon customers sold down the river by state regulators that approved the sale of their landlines to Frontier.

At fault: Frontier’s myriad of promotional plans which deliver discounts only when the salesperson correctly configures the account.  When things go wrong, customers get bills far larger than anticipated:

I’m on a contract for $26.99 per month. Each month the bill arrives showing $41.99 due. Each month I call and the agent confirms $26.99 is correct and a ticket will be put in to correct this. The next month I have to do this all over again. The last two months the agents have examined my account and have hung up on me. That is 20 minutes of phone calls per month. This is pathetic!

This customer was signed to a term contract for a service bundle that is supposed to deliver savings, but only delivers headaches when the bill arrives in the mail.  Frontier is also notorious for marketing service plans without disclosing a myriad of fees, surcharges, and taxes that dramatically increases the final amount due each month:

I have been with Frontier for 15 years, since moving to this area. A couple of years ago, a woman from Frontier was plying the neighborhood (repeatedly) with an offer I couldn’t refuse: around $30 for an unlimited local/LD plan with numerous features. Came with a 1-year contract. BUT when I got the first bill, it was around $50.

I called to query and was told, patronizingly, that “everyone has to pay their taxes.”

Everyone but Frontier that is — the company managed to pull off its purchase of Verizon landlines tax-free thanks to a legal tax loophole known as a Reverse Morris Trust.

After this customer discovered $50 is the new $30, they canceled their service.  That opened a whole new runaround — waiting months for a refund check promised on their final bill.  In this case, it took three months.

“At this point, my feeling is that if Frontier were the last phone company on earth, I’d be using carrier pigeons and a tin can with a string,” writes the exasperated ex-Frontier customer.

But sub-standard service doesn’t stop with the billing, as one Arizona customer reports.  The company’s contention it could bring 3Mbps DSL service to Navajo was an unfunny joke for one customer:

They claim to offer “up to 3Mbps.”  Beware of the words “up to” because this means that anything less can be expected and less is exactly what you will get. I have tested my speed many times and the best I get is around 0.25 Mbps. Not to mention that service gets interrupted almost daily and my Internet disconnects all the time. I called them about this and they said they would send someone. Well some incompetent tech from the Navajo office came here and checked around outside while I was gone from my house and just left a note saying everything was OK. Well, OK and so now what? I just have to accept this mediocre service that goes off and on all day? No follow up? Nothing? Stay away from this company… stay very far away. The only reason they are still around is because they offer the only service in some areas and therefore think that they don’t have to be a legitimate company because they have no competition here.

Frontier’s telemarketing is also relentless, and irritating for many customers as the company comes a-calling to push its two and three year service contracts with Internet and satellite television service.  Not interested?  One customer in West Virginia found that didn’t matter — Frontier started billing them for services they didn’t order anyway:

Frontier is a horrible company. I was sent two bills for Internet and phone services that I didn’t authorize. I called the first time and they were suppose to cancel the service and didn’t. I called when we got the second bill and was put on hold for 20 minutes and the representative was very rude to me and hung up because I asked if we were to receive another bill what was I suppose to do. I believe the reps need some more in depth customer service training.  I had Frontier before and had a problem with them then so I canceled my service. This just proves that they have no idea what they are doing.

Perhaps the only thing worse than getting bad service is no service at all.  Dennis’ Frontier landline has been out of service for a month… and counting:

I am so fed up with this horrible company. We got stuck with them due to Verizon selling out to them. Our phone has been out of order for over a month. Every time I call they tell me they have already fixed the problem but the phone is still not working, so they put in another repair ticket. Sometimes its at least a week before they can get out to “repair” the line.

I call at least once a week. I am using all my minutes on our cell phone plan just trying to get a working phone. When you call customer service they are rude and treat you like you are wasting their time…..isn’t that what they are paid to do? When we had Verizon and they came to repair the phone they would always call or stop by the house to let you know what the problem was and give you their card. The only way to find out if Frontier had been out is to call the repair line and get treated like crap again. They are supposed to come out again tomorrow and if the phone is not working I am going to cancel the phone service and get a cell phone booster for the house and go with cell service only.