Replying to a message of Roy Witt to Bob Ackley:

 BA>> And, of course, it's a monopoly (Qwest) and if I don't want to pay
 BA>> that much they just pull the plug.

 RW> Hmmmm, I think by federal law, they have to provide a 'poor man's'
 RW> phone. One that may be regulated by time and/or number of calls.

 BA>> There's no other telco to go to because of that monopoly.

 RW> It should still get it's franchise from the state.

They have one.  There's another local phone company nearby (within 4
miles), but the service boundary between them and Qwest lies between
my house and their switch.  The local outfit is not allowed to provide
service past that line, I asked.  BTW, the Qwest switch is at least 12
miles away and I am, quite literally, at the end of their cable.

--- FleetStreet 1.19+