Quick comment, Gord.
QoS:
Yes, IMHO, I think the next phase of the "can you provision me a broadband connection?" phase will be, "you get what you pay for" phase. IOW, for those customers who wish a higher QoS, the providers will begin to offer a higher-priced service. Right now some of the CLECs claim to offer this strategy to some extent.
Banners
If you wish, you can install a filter today on your browser to filter out or block banners & other forms of advertising. Goto Naviscope.com & download their free filter. It slows down the browsing experience a bit, if you ask me. Also, if you're referring to the "home page" type of advertising, it is merely illustrative of the first issue you raise, "you get what you pay for." You see free Internet has its costs in terms other than a monthly fee.
Project Pronto & CLECs
This issue has been raised before, most recently by MikeM from Florida. He's done much research into this area. The present conclusion is that presently the CLECs have no co-location rights at these RTs. So without co-location rights CLEC co-loco rights are limited to loops served directly out of the CO.
Now, it is NOT unlikely that CLEC co-location rights will be extended to the RT, but when they do, what will they be? Certainly space will be much more a premium. So,will they be able to install their own DLC equipment, or will their rights extend beyond physical space to the equipment itself? IOW, should the design of the NGDLCs that SBC is purchasing and installing, such as Litespan or the UMC1000, be altered to specifically provision CLEC unique services that SBC does not provision? Tough question, and a tougher one for the CLECs to prevail on than the mere physical space issue, IMHO.
Lifeline POTS
My understanding is that unused POTS loops will not be abandoned. Initially, once an RT is installed and the fiber feeding it is lit, it is my understanding that not all customer's loops will be switched to the RT routed loop, just the one's requesting digital services. This may change over time as VoDSL is provisioned. However, it is still likely that the teleco will rely on the existing POTS loops for voice lifeline as such service is looked to if power to the RT is lossed. In sum, I don't think the unused POTS loops will ever be fully abandoned. They provide the lifeline utility that you mention.
Hope this helps some. Its JMO. I just study this stuff; I'm no expert. |
