Your the one that's going to be out of luck, Mindspring will be just fine. Mark my words..
Post split 50
You're right. DSL requires your telco to get a DSL modem (they ARE modems) for each DSL connection they want to support. So the DSL connection from Home to Telco is totally owned and operated by the phone company. The connection from the telco to the Internet and all the Internet services like news, email, chat, etc., is taken care of by the ISP that you choose to use, like MindSpring or Earthlink. Don't worry though, anolog connections will be the most popular connection method for the next 5+ years and the analog customer base will probably increase, rather than decrease during this time (due to more new customers subscribing for analog Internet access than older analog customers switching to DSL or cable), so ISPs shouldn't really lose too much ground.
I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but consider the current state of DSL. You can get DSL service if you're in
the right places. But, you have to sign up with _both_ xxxBell and with an ISP. Of course, @Home is in the same situtation. Your cable provider is responsible for the wiring to your house, sure, but they don't control the Internet service that runs on it.
I know that it's somewhat scary at the _moment_ to think that AT&TCI could cover _all_ of the bases, but I seriously doubt that it will happen. I wouldn't be surprised if the FCC weighs in on this issue, if it ever becomes necessary for them to do so. In the meanwhile, I imagine that ISPs will be around for quite a long time.
AT&t and TCI offer such sorry service right now I seriously dough they will even make a time for the million they will have to invest in infrastructure.
The fundamentals are better than ever
Donald |
