Double billing is also an issue. I was amazed in Europe when I found out I wasn't billed if someone called or texted me. I could carry a pre-paid phone around for months with my iPhone and I was only billed if I decided to make calls or send texts. In the U.S., both parties are billed if someone makes a call. Wrong number? You pay for that. Company trying to sell you auto insurance? You pay for that, too.

And, as Pogue points out, companies like Verizon add absurd amounts of time to voicemail messages that end up costing consumers billions of dollars a year in airtime.

International Calling. The carriers charge absurd rates, usually 50 to 100 times what Skype, Google Voice or other VoIP carriers charge. Obviously, the carriers have access to the same technology at the same costs, so why the markup? Greed.

Carrier Exclusivity. As mentioned earlier, this is the issue that's caught the attention of lawmakers.

Do you think Apple wants to sell its iPhone on just one network? Does Google only want its device on TMobile, by far, the smallest carrier in the U.S.? Wouldn't they rather sell their phones on all carriers to as many people as possible? Of course! But in the U.S., it's advantageous for a phone company to "sponsor" phones. A carrier like AT&T can subsidize the cost of the iPhone, knowing that it will reap the benefits of having customers tied to its network.