Dear Editor,

The Telecommunications Deregulation Act of 2006/2007 was a severe mistake and will hurt many Alabamians.

It essentially gave telecommunications companies such as AT&T the right to charge business and consumers whatever they want to. The Public Service Commission has had to give away all rights to price controls. The Commission confirmed this fact in a phone call.

In essence, if AT&T and others want to charge it, you have to pay it. They can charge however much they please.

The law is already in effect for bundled services and will go in effect for basic telephone service January 1, 2011.

The law states, “Beginning January 1, 2011, the commission shall not have any jurisdiction, right, power, authority, or duty to regulate, supervise, control, oversee, or monitor directly or indirectly, the costs, rates, charges, terms, or conditions for basic telephone service.”

The phone companies got all they wanted. I wonder whose pockets they lined? Why don’t we find out?