IP: a query from an old IPe re telephone costs

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

"Does anyone have any hard (that is, correct) information about the 
actual cost of providing telephone service and the cost of collecting and 
billing for telephone service?  I've heard people suggest that the cost
of billing is 5X the cost of providing service.  It would be nice to 
verify this."