Washington Post: Are Internet providers ripping off some of their biggest customers? This data may tell.

Are Big Telecom providers ripping off, well, everybody? The U.S. government is looking into it: Article by Brian Fung for The Washington Post Federal regulators are finally releasing a huge trove of pricing and network data they've spent months collecting on the massive $40 billion market for business broadband, part of an effort to determine whether Internet providers such as Verizon and AT&T are charging hospitals, universities and other enterprises fairly for data and communications services.

Are Big Telecom providers ripping off, well, everybody? The U.S. government is looking into it:

Article by Brian Fung for The Washington Post

Federal regulators are finally releasing a huge trove of pricing and network data they've spent months collecting on the massive $40 billion market for business broadband, part of an effort to determine whether Internet providers such as Verizon and AT&T are charging hospitals, universities and other enterprises fairly for data and communications services.

Most of us may be more familiar with the retail market for broadband, where Internet providers charge consumers a monthly fee for access to the Web.

Although it's more obscure, the business market for high-speed data is no less important: It's what helps ATMs connect to your bank account, and how smaller cellular carriers like Sprint route your phone calls across the country. Even your office building might be a customer in this industry.

Some firms argue that, just as in the residential broadband space, a lack of competition among Internet providers drives up prices. British Telecom, which reportedly serves some 75 percent of all Fortune 500 companies as a technology and networking provider, highlighted this issue in a recent Financial Times interview.

- Read more at The Washington Post