Oh, it was worse than that. You used to not even own your phone, only rent it from the telephone company; a lot of elderly couples are still getting charged for

Oh, it was worse than that. You used to not even own your phone, only rent it from the telephone company; a lot of elderly couples are still getting charged for that phone they rented, and threw out, decades ago [1]. Thankfully, most customers are now at least allowed the tiny luxury of their own cable modem. http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com/2009/03/25/is-grandmom-still-renting-her-old-telephone/ http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com/2009/03/25/is-grandmom...