In California markets where each alternative was available for television, prices dropped 15 to 22 percent on average, Braunstein found.
If telephone companies compete on a wider scale throughout California, Braunstein predicts average monthly prices falling about $56.40 per month to between $43.99 and $47.94 per month. He said that since more than 60 percent of California's 11.5 million households signed up for cable service, that would result in savings of between $690 million and $1 billion.
The study was paid for by AT&T, by the way. The same ruthless monopoly that wants to crush third-party services that compete with their own.
I cannot question the sincerity of Braunstein's findings, but neither can I trust AT&T to maintain low pricing once they get the upper hand. And doing so is about all they are. And Verizon? We shall see..