To: DAY TRADER who wrote (111 ) 11/17/1999 5:51:00 PM From: Bill Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 169
Real good news coming for COVD and DSLN... FCC decides on 11/18/99 By Doug Brown, Inter@ctive Week November 17, 1999 5:00 AM PT Digital Subscriber Line service providers are eagerly awaiting a decision from the Federal Communications Commission this week that could radically change the economics of providing high-speed access to consumers. Currently, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) carriers must rent a local loop from the regional Bell operating company to bring service to home and business customers. Many in the industry expect the FCC will rule Thursday that such rentals are no longer necessary and that the DSL providers and RBOCs can share a single line into the customer premises. If the Nov. 18 ruling goes their way, DSL providers will see about $20 dropped from their cost of delivering access. "There will be almost immediate impact for consumers," said Jim Monroe, a spokesman for NorthPoint Communications in San Francisco. DSL executives are optimistic because the FCC ruled last March that line sharing is technically feasible. Even incumbent telephone company officials fear the decision will likely go against them. "There should be no sharing the loop such that [competitors] could strip off the lucrative DSL piece" and leave the voice portion of the spectrum for the incumbent carriers, said Lawrence Sargeant, vice president of regulatory affairs at the U.S. Telecom Association. "It seems entirely unfair." In Sargeant's view, such a ruling would run contrary to the FCC's hands-off approach toward opening access to high-speed cable services. "There is a question of competitive equity," he said. Level the playing field? If the FCC approves line sharing, Internet service providers supplying home access would suddenly become more competitive against the RBOCs, which thus far have been able to offer lower-priced DSL services.