If I had fewer services from them or more alternative providers, I would have cancelled everything by now.

We have fewer alternative providers because the FCC was fully unable to acknowledge the lack of competition for decades. It's only recently upgraded to giving the problem lip service.

And when anti-consumer interests gain control and stack the FCC with industry cronies - the damage they do takes time to unwind. Providing there's will to unwind it.

Past this is the DoJ, which had it's own decades of compulsively rubberstamping every consolidation merger it possibly could.

Telcom customer service is actually excellent! they are very kind to federal agents and roll out the red carpet, even go above and beyond to package data in nice formats and by demographic for their customers. I think what the author is referring to is "product retention management agents", because they are the product.