Just a note about the ongoing investigation into alleged (I detest that word - especially when used in cases where someone has so obviously and blatantly done something that even their attorney begins looking for a deal without a trial - if they did it, then say they did it, but using alleged leaves the door open for shoddy journalism, because it absolves libel thus removing the pressure on journalists to actually check their work vis-a-vis Jayson Blair) abuse of the routing of calls to avoid paying fees. Though for decorem´s sake I will keep names out of this piece, I'm here to take the alleged off of it with an interesting service issue.

As a paying home customer of the offending party (there are two providers in my area - kind of like the old tough guy choice of 'head or gut?') I have to say that the competing system performance is spotty at best when it comes to that most vital of systems - voicemail. A voicemail system should work the same way every time you use it. It should detect that there is an incoming call that hasn't been answered within three rings, then switch over to the answering system. A simple matter of switches (that'd be a good name for an exposee documentary about Huawei and Cisco) and the deed should be done. Except...

When someone from a different area code calls me, or someone using a cell phone calls me, a different system picks up. It asks for the ten-digit number. When someone using a POTS in the same area code calls me, my voice comes on with the outgoing message, and we're off to the races. Thus, we know that there is some sort of system working with the voice mail, and some sort of system working with out of area calls, and they are both exclusive of each other. I know that my callers should realize that the ten digits are my area code and phone number, but why should they have to? More pointedly, this shows some sort of alternate routing going on.

What that has meant to me is that I have lost some vital connections on on-going projects as people have been confused about the ten-digit entry and have figured that they had the wrong number. It also means I have lost out on a couple of opportunities for the same reason. The other thing that has meant to me is that there are definitely some smoking guns out there for investigators to find, should they choose to.

I have contacted the customer service area and been told that it is an on-going issue, and that they are trying to find out how to resolve it. Repeated contacts have produced the same scripted reply, which tells me that as a corporate office they have reached a tactical decision that they're not going to alter for a customer who has only two options available to him.

This is the problem of the evolution of wired services. As they have attempted to compete in the communications space with the cellulars, they have gone to a cost-cutting and loss-leader system that P.T. Barnum and F.W. Woolworth would both find to be admirable. They cannot compete if they cannot bring the costs down, and they cannot bring the costs down if they do not pay the fees.

I am not an expert by any means, but I have a nose and can tell when something is not smelling right. There are two options in the mix here, and neither one is a good one. I can go back to a more expensive option where the customer service does not exist and calling card calls cost over $5.00 for 2 minutes, or stay with one where the customers are kept in the dark but where I can save $10 or $15 a month. I believe I will explore more deeply taking what is behind curtain number 3 and going totally wireless. The customer service at my current provider is no better, but they have managed to come up with an environment where the voicemail works, as does the price.

I do not care about fair competition, I care about my need for communication that works. I do not personally care where calls are routed and how, but it is a sad thing when an antequated system of tolls and tributes prevents me from doing what I need to do without having to re-enter a monopolistic system. In feudal times, barons would stretch thick chains across rivers and charge exorbitant tributes to allow commercial traffic through. At that time disputes over such a system were settled with a pikestaff.

That said, here is something to ponder. What would happen if someone came along and created a system where all land lines were maintained by a (non TCOM provider) third party, with service providers paying set fees based on volume? Would that eliminate the need to deceive customers and regulators alike to focus on service and price as being the determiners of cost? What would communications companies do if they had to compete on what they offer in all areas, not just random and shaky claims about service and clarity, etc.? Consumers want phones that work consistently at a good price, period. Anything less is exactly that - less.