From: ahk@chinet.com   
      
   Robert Heller  wrote:   
      
   >Yes, it is called the United States Of America, which is in fact "a country   
   >with a shockingly backwards and exploitative phone system". Its whole Telecom   
   >system is in fact "shockingly backwards and exploitative". I live in Western   
   >Mass. There is NO broadband Internet. The 'shockingly backwards' phone system   
   >(analog copper based, kept barely functional though *minimal* maintenance   
   >efforts by Verizon), barely supports 33.6K modem (I have a 56K V90 modem, but   
   >I have to throttle it back to about 33K because it cannot maintain a reliable   
   >connection at higher speeds).  And yes, Verizon and AT&T do charge upwards of   
   >$90/month for cell phones where they work -- cell coverage in Western Mass is   
   >often spotty, mostly due to the rural, hilly, and forested terrain.   
      
   Are there no advantages to where you live, such as rural, hilly, and   
   forested terrain? It's flat where I live, rural replaced with sprawl,   
   and forests are merely farm land purchased decades ago and allowed to   
   get overgrown. But I have cell phone coverage on nearly all carriers.   
      
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