Rip-offs

The other evil empire

by Ben Geman

To anti-phone-company crusader Bruce Kushnick, the renewal of Star Wars fever is an amusing reminder of the misdeeds of what he calls the nation's evilest industry. "It's no coincidence that Darth Vader and Bell Atlantic use the same spokesperson, have the same voice," says Kushnick, referring to the basso profundo of actor James Earl Jones.

Kushnick knows something about the dark side, having worked as a telecommunications analyst for several phone companies. The so-called Baby Bells, he says, have ripped off American consumers to the tune of billions of dollars by overcharging and by failing to create the fiber-optic infrastructure they promised -- but sticking us with the bill anyway.

Kushnick recently turned his years of research into what he says is the only exposé of the Baby Bells: a 500-page self-published tome called The Unauthorized Bio of the Baby Bells & Info-Scandal. "The phone companies have told me I was wrong, I was inaccurate, etc.," says the New York City resident. "But most of the data I use is their data."

According to his conclusions, the Baby Bells owe consumers about $30 billion in refunds for massive profits they never reinvested in the promised fiber-optic lines. What's more, he says, consumers don't realize how much money the companies make on services such as call-waiting and directory assistance.

What hides the rip-off, says Kushnick, is that most people's only contact with the phone companies -- their monthly phone bill -- is so hopelessly confusing. "The Bells have been able to cover their tracks well," he says. "That's the bottom line. The phone bill is too complicated, so how can people complain when they don't even know what they are looking at?"

To be sure, Kushnick's dense, chart-filled book is equally tough going for the average reader -- and it's not cheap at $49.95 (paperback). But Kushnick hopes that people will read it and get pissed. Meanwhile, he says, he's preparing to file complaints against the Bells with the IRS and the Federal Communications Commission. Then, he says, it will be time for the rebels to begin plotting to defeat the empire. "What has to happen next is that people of conscience have to rise up," he says. "People need to get mad, and then we have to figure out what to do with them once they are mad."

The Unauthorized Bio of the Baby Bells & Info-Scandal is available through Amazon.com or through Kushnick's Web site at http://www.newnetworks.com.