Interesting People mailing list archives
IP: Re: Bells attempt to control the Internet
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 01 May 2001 18:56:40 -0400
X-Sender: >X-Sender: brett@localhost X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 4.3.2 Date: Tue, 01 May 2001 14:51:05 -0600 To: farber () cis upenn edu, ip-sub-1 () majordomo pobox com From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat org> Subject: Re: IP: Re: Bells attempt to control the Internet At 02:22 PM 5/1/2001, Matt Oristano wrote:Upon getting the e-mail on HR 1542, I immediately downloaded the bill, aPDF of which is attached.[deleted djf] Unless I haven't deciphered something in it, I think that claim number one below, "Makes voice applications of Internet illegal," is incorrect. What the bill does do is prevent *RBOC's* from using VOIP to get around current interLATA restrictions on voice unless they are otherwise approved to sell long distance. Not quite. It does forbid them for charging for long distance calls made via IP telephony. But it does not prevent them from billing for the raw Internet bandwidth. The RBOCs can thus sell "raw" interstate data pipes to large corporations and other customers, knowing that these customers will, in turn, attach VOIP units to them and use them to make long distance calls. This is a much more lucrative market than consumer long distance, a market in which prices and profit margins are falling dramatically. The Baby Bells will thus be able to tap a huge market which they formerly could not enter -- without being forced to conform to the provisions of Section 271 of the 1996 Telecomm Act.These seems to make sense. As for claims two and three below, theyare correct. It's worth noting however, that the bill guarantees competitors the right to interconnect with RBOC data networks. True. However, it also strips the FCC and state regulators from preventing the RBOCs from making the price of such connection so high as to forestall all competition. The right to connect is useless if the RBOCs are allowed to price competitors out of the market. The bill likewise forbids the FCC and the states from mandating access to unbundled network elements. This prevents competitors from taking advantage of next-generation DSL technologies that require repeaters to reach beyond 10-18 kilofeet, and hence places large numbers of customers out of their reach. --Brett Glass
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Current thread:
- IP: Re: Bells attempt to control the Internet David Farber (May 01)
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- IP: Re: Bells attempt to control the Internet David Farber (May 01)
- IP: Re: Bells attempt to control the Internet David Farber (May 01)