9/21    Why is caller-id so expensive? $6.17 per month? Don't we have a
        right to know who's calling us? It's like your ISP strips out
        the From field of your email, and charge you half of your ISP
        fee for that info. This is ridiculous. In the age where we
        want to offer free wireless internet access to everyone
        because it is 'essential', shouldn't phone service be free? Or
        at least the freggin caller id?
        \_ Caller-id is expensive the same reason why spammers don't quit,
           and the same reason why Yahoo mail attaches an ad spam at the
           end of the email-- because these things make $$$$$, duh! It's the
           very much the same reason why you have to pay phone companies
           $1.00 a month so that they don't list your name and phone number
           on the yellowpage. Your right to privacy is not listed under the
           US constitution, so companies will do whatever it is necessary
           to increase profits.
           \_ The right to (pursue and obtain) privacy is listed under the
              California constitution (Article 1, section 1), however. And
              no, I didn't have a point. -gm
        \_ I predict that > 90% of consumers won't use landlines directly as
           phonelines by 2020.  I bet it's > 5% now.
           \_ I guess this depends on if they can ever get 911 figured
              out. The main reason I have a landline is for 911 and for
              my security system.
              \_ And for a Fax. Vonage really mangles those fax connections.
                 \- what's going to drive the numbers are the third world
                    people getting cell phones as their first phone ... they
                    dont have to wait for the possibly nationalized phone
                    companies slowly running lines.
                    \_ So the third world is starving and in need of endless
                       foreign aid but is going to drive the cell phone
                       industry?  What is wrong with this picture?
                       \_ I went to my parents' old village in southern China
                          this year. It was the most rural place I've ever
                          been. And even peasant farmers there all had
                          Motorola RAZR's. You'd see towers all over the
                          farms. "Third World" does not automatically imply
                          starving and poor.
                          \_ How does a peasant farmer afford a $100-$200 cell
                             phone?
                             \_ You're making two assumptions here- that
                                peasant farmers are poor (again), and that
                                the phone costs $100-$200 everywhere. You
                                don't get out of the country much, do you?
                                \_ Doesn't 'peasant' imply 'poor'?
                                   \_ Yeah it does but he won't answer anymore
                                      because there is no way in hell a real
                                      peasant farmer in China has a cell phone.
                                \_ The per capita income for China doesn't
                                   seem to support cell phone purchase and
                                   use.  Since you are so much more worldly
                                   and erudite I am please tell me how much
                                   a Motorola RAZR costs in S.China and what
                                   a S.Chinese peasant farmer's gross and net
                                   per year are.
                                \_  It also seems reasonable that farmers
                                    have a much greater need for cell phones
                                    than most people, and might be willing
                                    to spend a larger fraction of their income
                                    on a cell phone than someone who works
                                    indoors.
                                    \_ There is a whole cottage industry in
                                       India which consists of cell phone
                                       owners who travel around and rent out
                                       their phone by the minute to peasant
                                       farmers.
                       \_ Building the infrastructure for cell phones costs
                          less than building the infrastructure for landline
                          phones.
                          \- you know i was going to reply to "what is
                             wrong with this picture" dumbass above
                             explaining about lagging vs leapfrogging but
                             then decided not to bother. but the e'ist comes
                             to the rescue making the same point in one of
                             this week's leaders:
         http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SJQQPVJ
                             [and additioaly emphasizing "cellphones are the
                             standrd example in this area].