A _minimum_ figure, of several percentage points was 'cast in stone'. If a utility spent $100million, that it didn't have to, in providing regulated services, it was entitled to raise rates enough to cover that $100 million _and_ (at least!) the guaranteed profit rate on that investment.
Regulated monopoly utilities _were_ guaranteed a profit. It was very explicit in PSC regulations.
Railroads were _not_ monopolity utilities, either. Thus the comparison fails any relevancy test.
I'm curious on why local services are so expensive for the companies? I know the long distance revenues did subsidize the local loop pre- divestiture but nowadays there are so many added fees that you have to wonder if there isn't one great big lie being told.
And long distance, the bottom dropped out of that as technologies advanced. By the time AT&T started rolling out it's electronic toll switches the cost to provide the service was dropping precipitously.
That's the weird part though. Bell was constantly innovating to drive costs down. That was the basis of electronic switching, of more reliable electronics in the subscriber sets, etc.
Towards the end the phones themselves were marvels of engineering. And the switches, built for a minimum 30 year service life.
Now it's all throw-away and we pay for it.
I still recall my phone bill in 1982 was $12 a month for unlimited calling. Toll wasn't that expensive by then either.
If Bell had simply let go of Western Electric they could have kept the whole kit and kaboodle going.
My recollection is that the chairman of AT&T at the time (Charlie Brown?) really did persue the breakup after it was apparent things weren't going his way.
For those unfamiliar (As I was until I googled it)
And the antenna is about six feet high - too big to use in a car!
Bill "Are my jokes getting too obtuse?" Horne
And 'what they got' was _virtually_always_ more than the statutorily guaranteed rate.
I know of only one case (I _don't claim comprehensive knowledge, but it was the first time in history in _this_ locale) where new rates gave Bell the statutory minimum ROI -- actually the state was _really_ pissed at Bell, and thought the 'appropriate' figure was even lower, but had to obey the law and give them their _guaranteed_ ROI. Bell took the State to court over the matter. Won. And got more.
What makes you think that Western Union was a "regulated _monopoly_ utility"?
They were simply a "regulated common carrier", and in no different a position than a long-distance trucking company.
Riiiight. Pick a year -- *any* year in the 100 years prior to the Staggers act -- which Railroad had the 'monopoly' on service to Chicago, or New York City? Or even "service _between_ Chicago and NYC"?
One reason is equipment utilization. The local loop plant must have a dedicated path to each house even if it is not used that much. Today, lines can be concentrated, but concentrators costs money at each end, and savings isn't as much as a toll line. In contrast, long distance lines get much more usage so the cost is amortized.
Further, every house represents an account that must be serviced whether the account is bare bones or a high priced user. Quite a few accounts are low priced.
Local services are generally still under regulation. That means deadbeats are protected and the company must suffer with vandalism, lousy areas, etc. Dealing with regulatory agencies is expensive and a nuisance.
At my previous residence, as with my current residence, I maintain a land line with only very basic service, the kind that costs about twenty dollars a month (I'd have to pay about a third of that to run DSL over a dry line, anyway.) However, at my previous residence, I had to call repair at least once a year (my favorites were when the call center agent could barely hear me over the noise) and the problems were usually solved by rolling a truck, whether to juggle connections at the pedestal (which was on my next door neighbour's lawn) or to replace the line from there to my home (which they did twice: once by stringing it through trees and again later when they buried it.) Rolling a truck is very expensive compared to $20/month and is usualy avoided if at all possible. This continued for years, and I can't help but wonder how many others in my area - at least those served by the same pedestal - might have been similarly affected.
There is no doubt in my mind that Bell Canada lost money just maintaining the last dozen yards of my local loop, before we even think about the cost of installing and maintaining the rest of the local loop, the switch, the trunks, the CO building, power, administration, etc.
In my area you can tack on another $12 - $15 in taxes and surcharges to that basic service.
Some radio amateurs are indeed using seven foot tall antennas atlhough admittedly on minivans.
"The SG-307 is a 7 foot marine and mobile whip antenna for operation from 1.8 to
60MHz. An automatic antenna coupler, such as an SGC Smartuner is required for operation. The antenna is supplied with an optional 4-way stainless steel swivel ratchet mount and reinforced base spring. Loaded frequencies are 8 and 25 MHz and maximum output power is 150W PEP or CW. When ordered with the mount, kit includes 3 feet of high voltage wire, a wall feed-thru bushing and a 3 foot ground strap for coupler grounding. "Tony
_I_ was the "Armstrong" antenna mount when a friend would go on a 2m hidden- transmitter hunt, using a 10 element beam. Amazingly effective, although there was a significant 'distraction' factor with regard to other drivers. (A local cop nearly ran off the road when we drove past him :)
After a few times out, we decided 10 elements was overkill, and went to a steerable 4-element beam, with the mast in a slip-ring, supported by a section on a 'moose rack'. Raise it enough to clear the roof to swing it for DF -- point forward or aft, and let it drop to where the antenna 'beam' was at the moose rack for close clearances.
In fairly short order, some of the other 'hunters' were also using
4-element beams on a mast, stuck (near vertical) through a rear window on a van.The guys hiding the transmitter started to have to work a _lot_ harder, to make the hunts last any length of time. But that's a whole
-nuther- set of stories.
***** Moderator's Note *****I was once the "fox" on a fox hunt done on Boston Common. To throw the searchers off the scent, I dressed in an old Army jacket and dirty jeans, with mis-matched socks and shoes. I carried my 2 meter transceiver in a paper bag, and whenever a hunter got close, I'd go up to him and asked for spare change in a slurred voice.
It took two hours for one of them catch me: he was using a slotted antenna made out of an aerosol can. _He_ was the only one who believed what his DF gear was telling him.
BTW, DF'ing, a.k.a. Radiosport, is a major hobby in Japan.
Bill Horne
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