Paul,

A damn good question that! It is always easier to rant than to come up with constructive ways of changing the status quo.

It is not trivial. How does one wrest commercial power from the hands of government in a situation like ours? There are those within the ruling party who do not believe that privatization and deregulation are the way forward. It needs a many pronged attack. As individuals, we need to use whatever skills, knowledge and levers we have to support initiatives that work FOR breaking the market open for competition to flourish and AGAINST initiatives that hinder competition. If you possibly can, choose your telecoms services less by cost alone (especially where the monopoly is undercutting others) and more by conscience.

Be a good consumer. And where you can, be more than just a good consumer.

The fact that President has stated publicly, more than once, that the cost of telecoms is too high, means we need to start holding him and his government accountable when they do not deliver (especially when they start blaming the private sector for “not coming to the party”!).

A healthy broadband ecosystem will be slow in coming, but even the most determined monopolists will be able to stop the power of IP no more than they can push water uphill!

Dave