Your source states that AT&T spent "0.8 cents" "of each dollar of revenue" on R&D. Secondly, if you dig into the source [1] of your source, you find that R&D spending for North American telecom companies in 2013 are dead last against every other industry as a percentage of revenue. I renew my claim that "basically none" R&D spending is a fair and accurate description.
> AT&T is rarely the only wireless or telecom provider in any given market
That is technically true, but I would paint the same facts as "approximately 96% of the population has at most two wireline providers". [2] This is an optimistic estimate: "the data used here do not provide adequate information on price and performance to determine if multiple providers in a given area compete head-to-head".
> If you want to have a market, then you can't regulate rates of return.
I don't disagree with you there. I think where we disagree is that you think a competitive market for wireline broadband in the US in 2014 is a possible scenario. In my mind, the regulated monopoly (or public utility) is the only viable model.
> AT&T is rarely the only wireless or telecom provider in any given market
That is technically true, but I would paint the same facts as "approximately 96% of the population has at most two wireline providers". [2] This is an optimistic estimate: "the data used here do not provide adequate information on price and performance to determine if multiple providers in a given area compete head-to-head".
> If you want to have a market, then you can't regulate rates of return.
I don't disagree with you there. I think where we disagree is that you think a competitive market for wireline broadband in the US in 2014 is a possible scenario. In my mind, the regulated monopoly (or public utility) is the only viable model.
[1] http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/global/home/what-we-think/glo...
[2] http://books.google.com/books?id=l8oI5rA_NpQC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA...