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FUND RAISING, PHASE II : HALT THE WIRELINE-WIRELESS SUBSIDIES: STOP 5G!
First, we are pleased to announce that IRREGULATORS’ counsel, Scott McCollough, Esq. is now part of Robert F Kennedy, Jr. CHD legal team, with Dafna Tachover, focusing on the FCC’s wireless health regulations.
We Got the Decision We Wanted; The States are now independent and we are working to bring new municipality and state actions over the next 2 months.
IRREGULATORS v FCC: On April, 2019, the IRREGULATORS filed a challenge against the FCC in the DC Court of Appeals dealing with the FCC’s cost accounting rules and formulas. After multiple filings, and our oral argument, on March 13th, 2020, the DC Court issued an Opinion.
- The Cities and States can now go after hundreds of millions/billions of dollars per state from the companies that control America’s critical public wired state-based telecommunications utilities–AT&T, Verizon and Centurylink and the other phone, cable, ISPs, and broadband providers.
- These funds can now be freed to solve the Digital Divide, lower prices and bring in competition.
- Stop the Wireline-Wireless Cross Subsidies. The wireless networks require fiber optic wires to their cell sites and over the last 2 decades they have been able to divert billions of dollars from the states’ wireline construction, which is charged to the wired networks and phone customers.
- Separate the Wireline Utility from the Wireless & Other Subsidiaries. As a country we must examine how AT&T and Verizon have been able to use the state wired utilities as a cash machine for their other lines of business to the detriment of the states and cities, and ultimately everyone reading this.
- 5G is no longer profitable once the wireless company has to pay for the construction and the other related fees.
- Stop the Excessive Corporate Operations Expenses. From the executive pay, to the corporate jets, lobbyists, astroturf groups and lawyers who push anti-customer regulations, the companies have been able to add billions in expenses to our bills.
- All of these cross-subsidies were created because the FCC accounting formulas are deformed but are still in use. The States can now stop this financial shell game going forward, saving billions, and explore getting the money back from the companies who used this shell game.
Important: We Lost but We Won: The DC Court denied our standing and did not examine the merits of the case, but this decision freed the states. Scott McCollough, Esq., the IRREGULATORS’ counsel, explains:
“I know it is confusing, but we employed a ‘briar patch’ strategy. Sometimes you have to play to lose in federal court cases because you want them to remit you to state jurisdiction. This was exactly what we were hoping the court would say. The reason for no standing is what is important. We have no standing because the state commissions have the full power to fix the problem and devise their own accounting rules. This was groundbreaking because until now everyone operated as if the states could not devise their own accounting rules and had to apply the FCC’s accounting rules. The court just said they are not bound by FCC rules. We won, trust me.”
Focus and this Fundraiser: The State and Municipality Defense Package.
We are now in the planning and implementation stage of Phase II. We believe:
- Our Path is “Pearls on a Fiber Optic Wire”. We are working to getall of the different people, groups and organizations who care about the Digital Divide, 5G and health issues, competition, not to mention being overcharged, to come together for The Common Good:
- We paid for a fiber optic, wired future and we want it now.
- Wireless is NOT a substitution for Wireline.
- The cross-subsidies for wireless and the other services must be halted immediately, and refunds investigated where appropriate.
- Disaster Capitalism Is Now in Play: Using the current coronavirus scare and claiming it is an emergency, the companies are getting Congress and the states to a) give them more wireless spectrum, b) put up billions for WiFi c) get changes in laws to help the companies over the public interest.
- Government subsidies should not be used for broadband without audits. AT&T, Verizon and Centurylink, not only get major subsidies from the FCC and other government agencies, but also funding, tax perks and other benefits from cities and most states, and many are calling to use more government subsidies to fund broadband.
- No government funding without audits and a full accounting. There has been virtually no accounting, audits or investigations of the billions in cross-subsidies or the deregulatory perks the companies received over the last 2 decades, and we have little or nothing to show for it. It is time to stop these financial gifts.
- There is enough money that has been diverted to fund America’s fiber optic broadband future to everyone. We just need to stop the cross subsidies, excess expenses, and the revisionist history being promulgated as facts.
- This Is a New Era: Broadband Should be Fiber to the Home. The world order has changed—families, even in rural areas, all need high speed fiber optic broadband networks at home, at reasonable rates, and we need to reinstate serious wireline competition. We do not need a kludge using wireless.
- The Alternative Path: IRREGULATORS’ focus is on telecommunications infrastructure and overcharging, and getting all of America upgraded to a wired, fiber optic future.
- We Freed the States to do the Right Thing. Help us so we can hold these companies and the regulators accountable, finally, through legal and regulatory challenges.
PLEASE DONATE Today. These next steps require some serious heavy legal, regulatory challenges as well as extensive forensic audits, research and analysis.
SEE THE JOSH DEL SOL INTERVIEW:
IRREGULATORS vs. FCC: Exposing and prosecuting a vast, illegal financial scandal behind 5G
FREE BOOK: EARLY SUMMER READING FOR THE SOCIALLY DISTANCED: “The Book of Broken Promises: $400 Billion Broadband Scandal & Free the Net”
Who We Are: We’re the IRREGULATORS.
Bruce Kushnick, Managing Director