A criminal is a person with predatory instincts who does not have sufficient capital to form a corporation.

OK, maybe my subtitle is too extreme. But marvel that highly vaunted triple play sold to us by the telecoms. You know; the marketing ploy that says that bundling your digital services together can also save you money. Maybe so, but that gap may be narrowing.

Verizon plans to raise its rates for FiOS TV programming packages by about 7%. Beginning Jan. 8, the price for its 200-channel FiOS TV Premiere package will increase from $39.95 to $42.99 monthly for new customers in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Maryland.

Existing FiOS TV customers will continue to be charged the initial $39.95 monthly price. Said a Verizon executive "It's our way of thanking our customer that initially signed up for us. Most of them are cable converts." Yeah, let's see how long that lasts.

The company announced about a bazillion little price increases for everything from basic cable service to how each 'entertainment package' price will adjust. But there are just too many permutations to list here without making you fall asleep.

Overall, Verizon is justifying this because of "increased value for the service," including the addition of more than 20 channels to the package.