Um, the one-syllable word for this is "greed." If competition brings the price down to the $20-$25 range elsewhere, then the prices here aren't based on cost but on the ability to exploit obstacles to competition. In one of the articles I read this week, the author compared the situation to TV or the internet -- what if you could only watch "American Idol" on an RCA TV? Or only get to Yahoo on a Sony laptop? That's the kind of situation the telecoms have arranged for themselves here. I'm not advocating revolution and nationalization of the telecoms. Not saying Apple doesn't play the same game with iPods and iTunes. Just expressing my disgust. "Free speech" and "free markets" go hand in hand -- if you want true capitalism you have to have transparency and frictionless information. Roger