[Bogey78O]

But what advantage will that give? The new Bell that owns solely the copper won't suddenly out of generosity decide to install new plant. And as it is if the competition is so gung-ho to get an area to itself they can install the plant themselves then tap into our equipment as neccessary. It seems like you have the answer and you just want a problem to apply the answer to.

[jayef]

Agreed. Nobody expects Bell to do anything out of generosity. The decaying plant in places like New Orleans and Charleston will not be replaced out of generosity, but necessity. You will have to compete, WITH SOMEBODY.

The question is, will you compete, or will you continue to try to use government fiat to crush your competition? I deal with this every day.

It is in the best interest of the consumer to have choice. It is in the best interest of the consumer that regardless of who he chooses as a provider, that that provider competes on equal footing for the goods used in providing service. That is not happening today. Parity is a myth and the Bells are paying millions of dollars to the states and its competitors as a result.

Bell treats its customers like competitors and is suffering because of it. Optimally, Bell wholesale would compete with other wholesale providers to serve Bell retail and the CLECs. This would create the proper competitive pressures that would benefit the consumer.