The BroadNet Alliance: ISPs Unite!
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June 18, 2002 10:11/PRNewswire
ISPs Big and Small Unite to Form 'BroadNet' - National, Regional and Local Broadband ISPs Form Coalition To Fight Monopoly Special Interests
WASHINGTON, June 18
Competition -- not deregulation for the sake of deregulation -- should be the focus of policymakers' efforts to foster the availability of broadband services, a new coalition of national, regional and local independent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) said today. Announcing the group's formation, representatives of The BroadNet Alliance (BroadNet) expressed support for appropriate and effective regulatory oversight of the incumbent local telephone monopolies and its opposition to recent proposals intended to deregulate an industry that remains highly monopolized.
"Pure-play ISPs are joining forces to fight for the future of competitive broadband markets," said Maura Colleton, Executive Director of BroadNet. "This unprecedented cooperation among ISPs of all sizes, who collectively serve many millions of US customers, signals their tremendous concern over the direction in which national Internet policy appears to be heading."
BroadNet members -- which range from small businesses to high-profile national providers -- realize that the future of the Internet depends upon open, competitive telecommunications, not the narrow self-interest of the huge telephone monopolies. United into a single coalition, BroadNet hopes to prevent the Bell monopoly companies from undoing the market-opening requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and other pro-competitive policies established by the Federal Communications Commission that have allowed the Internet to flourish, members said.
"How America chooses to deploy broadband is one of the most central policy issues of our time. Though there are many voices on the traditional long distance, cable and local telephone sides, the country's independent broadband providers have lacked a clear voice in the debate," Colleton said. "BroadNet will fill this void -- putting the focus where it belongs: on competition, rather than deregulation. One definitely does not equal the other."
It is Time to Talk About the REAL Broadband Problems
The Last Mile
The real problem with broadband deployment is the unavoidable fact that the local monopolies still control the local telecommunications market, often called the "last mile" that extends to every home and business in America, and was built with public dollars. The monopolies use this dominant market position to continually raise prices for wholesale and retail DSL products. And through heavy-handed pricing schemes, they have succeeded in limiting the ability of independent providers to offer high-speed Internet services.
BroadNet noted that the real broadband problem has little to do with deployment, and much more to do with the very slow adoption rate by consumers. Although broadband is available to almost 90% of Americans, only 10% have chosen to subscribe to the service.
"The incumbents are running around like Chicken Little saying that the sky is falling and that there is a huge broadband crisis," remarked Colleton. "But the sky is not falling. The truth is, until consumers have compelling broadband content and meaningful choices, the adoption of broadband will remain low. Extending the power and reach of monopolies will only send prices higher and services lower, handicapping the demand side even further."
Monopolies Control the Local Access Used By ISPs
Earlier this year, the FCC released its third annual report to Congress on the availability of advanced telecommunications services. The report found that the market for advanced services continues to grow, with both availability and subscribership increasing significantly, despite the widespread economic downturn. Overall, the report announced that broadband services are being rolled out across the nation in a "reasonable and timely manner." Of great concern to BroadNet, the report also found that incumbent telephone monopolies still control 93% of access lines, and are the dominant providers of wholesale last-mile DSL services.
"The Bells have both the ability and the incentive to discriminate against non-affiliated ISPs, and do so at every opportunity," said Dave Baker, Vice President of Law and Public Policy for Georgia-based Earthlink. "How on earth can any policymaker anywhere justify making that even easier for them? How would that possibly help the American consumer?"
Clair Kaye, President of rural Illinois ISP Cumberland Internet, serves her customers by purchasing wholesale access from the incumbent carrier. Her business depends upon FCC rules that require incumbent companies to provide wholesale DSL services to her ISP. "Copper lines are all we have," remarked Kaye. "If the FCC takes those away, we will literally have no way to provide broadband to our customers. I understand why the big incumbent carriers might not be interested in serving an area as small as ours, but they shouldn't be able to prevent us from doing it."
Deregulation Does Not Equal Competition
Competitive retail Internet services exist largely because of FCC rules that ensure non-discriminatory access to wholesale transport services provided by incumbent monopoly carriers.
The important distinction between the regulated telecom infrastructure and the unregulated Internet services that ride over it has allowed for an explosion of Internet access and services.
Added Kaye, "Seventy years of public investment has allowed for a public infrastructure that reaches every home and business in America, and that public infrastruture should continue as the platform for the next generation of innovations and services. It is our collective investment and all Americans -- even those of us way down in the farmlands of Southern Illinois -- deserve the returns."
Eliminating that wholesale market while the ILECs still control access to the underlying infrastructure, as the FCC and some Members of Congress propose, would result in effectively creating a "closed" system, and would severely damage the innovative environment of the Internet.
"There is a fundamental misunderstanding between wholesale and retail deregulation," said Colleton. "If the FCC allows the Bells to extend their monopoly to the Internet, that would constitute some of the most astoundingly anti-consumer public policy to come out of Washington in years."
Today, over 7,000 ISPs serve US consumers, from small community-based providers to national providers who cover all 50 states. Though the retail market is competitive, Internet and broadband service providers remain wholly dependent upon the incumbent telephone companies who control access to that underlying infrastructure. Without incumbent facilities, ISPs would be unable to provide services to consumers. As long as monopolies retain control over that access, regulators must protect the existing right of ISPs to use these facilities.
BroadNet stresses that ISPs represent not only millions upon millions of subscribers but thousands of small businesses across the country, many of them providing Internet services to rural and underserved areas long ignored by the monopoly providers. These rural consumers and small businesses could be left with no service at all if broadband policy is decided in favor of the monopoly Bell Companies.
"We are extremely encouraged by the Bush Administration's understanding of this dynamic, and we applaud the President's comments last week that clearly stated that competition is alive and well and still living in America," said Colleton. "We look forward to helping them realize the tremendous vitality that competitive broadband deployment will bring to the US economy."
The BroadNet Alliance (BroadNet) is comprised of national, regional and local independent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who agree that competition -- not deregulation for the sake of deregulation -- should be the focus of policymakers' efforts to foster the availability of broadband services. BroadNet understands that the future of the Internet depends upon open, competitive telecommunications, and supports appropriate and effective regulatory oversight of the incumbent local telephone monopolies to ensure quality, affordability and innovation through competition. United into a single coalition, BroadNet hopes to prevent the Bell monopoly companies from undoing the market-opening requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the long history of pro-competitive policy leadership established by the Federal Communications Commission. To learn more, or join the BroadNet effort, visit us at: broadnetalliance.org
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SOURCE The BroadNet Alliance
/CONTACT: Dan Rene, +1-202-496-1000, for The BroadNet Alliance/ |
