Hi Frank,
Thanks so much for your insight. As usual I had to read it 4 times to fully digest it! My ignorance is scary!
One more for you:
You said
Now you're referring to a future condition whereby unbundled network elements (specifically copper loops) will be leased at the wholesale level to CLECs, as though it was a done deal. I don't know that it actually is, yet, or if it will be. Please point to some reliable reference on this. When is this ruling supposed to take place by?
Doesn't this pretty much state it's a done deal?
FCC expected to order line sharing for DSL carriers.
11/11/1999
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 1999.
WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - High-speed Internet service over telephone
lines should get a boost next week from the Federal Communications Commission,
industry officials said on Thursday.
The agency is expected to order major local carriers, such as Bell Atlantic
Corp. and SBC Communications Inc., to share their lines and allow competitors
to offer high-speed data service while the established carrier continues to
offer basic voice service to the same customer.
So-called line sharing could dramatically reduce the monthly fees upstart data
carriers have to pay the major local carriers for leasing use of the copper
wires that run into the homes and businesses of customers.
Under current rules, data carriers have to pay the full cost of a line even if
they only want to offer high-speed Internet connections.
The largest data-oriented upstart carriers are NorthPoint Communications Group
Inc., Covad Communications Group Inc. and Rhythms NetConnections Inc.
All of the new companies, as well as the Bells, rely on Digital Subscriber
Line technology to speed Internet connections. DSL transmits information over
an ordinary phone line in frequencies that cannot be heard by the human ear
and are not typically used by regular voice traffic.
The most popular versions of DSL are limited to customers living within about
three miles of a phone company central switching office and offer speeds 50 to
100 times faster than ordinary modems.
So far, DSL deployment has lagged behind the cable industry's roll-out of
high-speed Internet service over cable wires. About 250,000 people subscribe
to DSL compared to more than a million cable modem users, according to
analysts.
The FCC's order is expected to be adopted at a public meeting next week but
could be delayed at the last minute. Itwould likely set a price for carriers
wanting to split a line with a major carrier.
Major carriers were seeking a 50-50 split, allowing competing DSL providers to
lease a line for half the charge of the whole line. Competitors sought a more
lopsided split with a data discount of as much as 90 percent. (( Aaron
Pressman, Washington newsroom, 202-898-8312 )).
Also, you said:
Do you suppose they are doing this to preempt being forced into the
situation where they 'must' supply the loops to their adversaries?
I don't understand this. Isn't this line sharing all the FCC's doing?
As always, very appreciative of your comments,
Sup.
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