To: D. K. G. who wrote (5712 ) 10/28/1999 2:34:00 PM From: MikeM54321 Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Denis and Thread- I don't know about you, but that article had me saying, "huh?" a lot."[The RBOCs] want to be in the long distance market, and the only way they can do that is--because of the Telecommunications Act of 1996--if they also roll out DSL," "In 1995, when the RBOCs knew the Telecommunications Act was coming they installed fiber optic cable nationwide so they could make the jump into the $100 billion long distance market because it is very profitable and in line with their core business." "Now that they've seen the light, they aren't in a position to capitalize on it as well as the data CLECs like Covad, Rhythms and NorthPoint." "The problem is that they also have to install DSLAMs (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers)--devices in a phone company's central office that transmit DSL signals to the PC--and blanket the entire country. "You saw SBC's announcement that they were going to have to spend a lot more money than they thought?" says McDonald. "But for the FCC to approve SBC's merger with fellow Baby Bell Ameritech, the deal was that certain districts had to agree to something called line sharing, which allows voice and data to come in over the same line. "This is something that no one's focused on," says McDonald. "The FCC is meeting in November to rule on legislation governing line sharing, and this will allow the data CLECs access to those copper lines at the same cost as an RBOC." "The data CLECs present a real threat to the RBOCs, not the other way around. Covad, Rhythms and NorthPoint are now in central offices that effectively cover 90% of the country."
