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Broadband Regulation Debated (in US Senate)
InformationWeek,com ^ | May 22, 2002 | David M. Ewalt

Posted on 05/23/2002 10:00:23 AM PDT by Alan Chapman

U.S. senators are probing what, if anything, can be done to increase the availability and cut the price of broadband service. At the heart of the matter is the question of whether to break up local phone companies in order to promote competition. One bill, proposed by Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., would do just that, splitting each telco into retail and wholesale arms. Wholesale units would lease high-speed lines to competing Internet service providers. Pennsylvania state Sen. Mary Jo White complained to the commerce committee that a lack of competition has dissuaded Verizon Communications from selling fast, affordable Internet access to her constituents in rural western Pennsylvania. "I remain convinced that structural separation makes sense and is the only way to assure competitors nondiscriminatory access to customer's homes and businesses," she said.

But critics of regulation say customers would be left with more confusing and less reliable service if a breakup occurred. "It would wreak an absolutely massive amount of destruction on the telecommunications sector and the national economy," says Adam Thierer, director of telecom studies for the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. "It would be gut-wrenching for consumers."


TOPICS: Government; Technical
KEYWORDS:
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To: jayef
Oh yeah. I work in Install and Maintenance.
41 posted on 05/28/2002 2:23:15 PM PDT by Bogey78O
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To: Bogey78O
YGM
42 posted on 05/28/2002 2:27:11 PM PDT by jayef
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To: jayef
YGM?
43 posted on 05/28/2002 2:27:47 PM PDT by Bogey78O
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To: Bogey78O
Not good with acronyms, eh? ;-) You've got mail. Check your Freepmail.
44 posted on 05/28/2002 2:29:38 PM PDT by jayef
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To: Bogey78O
"DSLAM"

Heh heh... thank goodness for Anconym Finder.

Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer

45 posted on 05/28/2002 2:40:44 PM PDT by Harrison Bergeron
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To: The KG9 Kid
Seems that the last I heard, the emerging 'LD-DSL' (Long-Distance DSL) that PacBell was offering was a pathetic 128kbps symmetric xfer rate (up/down) for $120/month.

There is a new company I know of that has just started their first residential rollout for broadband, which as it happens doesn't use the telco last mile (or anywhere in their transcontinental network). They have a 20,000' range also, and for a similar price the smallest service they deliver is 1-Mbit symmetric and they do it at a profit. This is the kind of competition the telcos really need -- there is hope yet.

46 posted on 05/28/2002 2:43:20 PM PDT by tortoise
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To: HAL9000
"Oh wait - the Bell companies only want a law the exempts them from having to share their property - not mine. "

By this logic, we can assume you'd like the water, electric and gas services removed from your property as well? Maybe you should be the one to move... to the top of some godforsaken mountain in the middle of nowhere... nobody would bother you with those pesky modern conveniences.

47 posted on 05/28/2002 2:45:11 PM PDT by Harrison Bergeron
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To: tortoise
Wireless?
48 posted on 05/28/2002 2:45:37 PM PDT by Bogey78O
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To: Harrison Bergeron
Yeah sorry about that. It's the point at which DSL is spliced into the line.
49 posted on 05/28/2002 2:46:18 PM PDT by Bogey78O
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To: Bogey78O
WFM
50 posted on 05/28/2002 2:52:26 PM PDT by Harrison Bergeron
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To: Bogey78O
In part. The network architecture is unique and rather brilliant, and they are utilizing a handful of new wireless technologies that really extend the capabilities of what most people conceive that wireless networking can do in terms of range, transit capacity, and cost. Couple this with a pure fiber network that most companies would be envious of and it gets interesting. The company was designed from the ground up to be a telco killer; the principals are well-connected and some major hardware vendors are working closely with the company to develop the systems and protocols. The bottom line is that they represent a quantum leap in the cost/performance ratio for these types of systems and their infrastructure costs are pennies on the dollar compared to telco infrastructure costs. I expect them to do very well.
51 posted on 05/28/2002 3:25:07 PM PDT by tortoise
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To: Harrison Bergeron
By this logic, we can assume you'd like the water, electric and gas services removed from your property as well? Maybe you should be the one to move... to the top of some godforsaken mountain in the middle of nowhere... nobody would bother you with those pesky modern conveniences.

No, your assumption is wrong. I stated my position in #15 -

"I favor a reasonable amount of eminent domain powers for utilities, in return for regulations on the utilities that serve the public interest. Requiring the telephone companies to allow competitors to access their facilities is a reasonable tradeoff for eminent domain powers."

I don't favor giving utilities the power of eminent domain without expecting them to make some concessions too. Is that unreasonable?

52 posted on 05/28/2002 5:23:46 PM PDT by HAL9000
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To: tortoise
Has it gone public yet?
53 posted on 05/28/2002 5:26:00 PM PDT by Bogey78O
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