IP: more on Baby Bells Lobby Over Internet Bill

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

For the record, I agree with Gerry  on this one (and have even when I was 
at the FCC)  with the possible addition of requiring equal terms for new 
entrants to gain access to pole space and existing conduit space.

Dave


> From: "Faulhaber, Gerald" <faulhabe () wharton upenn edu>
> To: "'farber () cis upenn edu'" <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
>
>
> Congress' intent to open up local competition to the RBOCs via resale, 
> while certainly well-intentioned, was never going to work, and guess 
> what?  It hasn't, despite herculean efforts by the FCC and state 
> regulators.  After 5 years of intense regulatory pressure to make it 
> happen, coupled with the telecoms bubble when investors were literally 
> throwing money at CLECs/DLECs with stupid business plans, penetration 
> remains a mere 8 1/2% of lines, almost all of which are business.  This 
> bill will change this very little; it just means the RBOCs won't have to 
> worry about it, at least for DSL.
>
> I don't buy the argument that new services should come under new rules; 
> the whole argument about monopoly control has been the RBOCs control of 
> the local loop (access line) as a bottleneck facility.  It isn't a 
> service, it's a facility.  Therefore, I *do* buy the argument (advanced by 
> Verizon's Tauke) that new *facilities* should come under new rules.  As 
> long as the RBOCs are not leveraging their bottleneck local loop, then 
> forcing them to share facilities (such as new optical networks) makes no 
> sense at all and definitely hinders new investment.  If it's economical 
> for them to put it in, it's economical for anyone to do so; where's the 
> bottleneck?
>
> Force sharing of the local loop?  Not a very good idea [ exception djf], 
> but if you insist  ....  Force sharing of new optical networks, unrelated 
> to the local loop?  Really bad idea.  Let's encourage the RBOCs to do 
> seriously new investment by shedding old-investment legacy regulation.
>
> For those of you who would like to believe that if only we worked a little 
> harder we could force the Bells to really open up their local loops at 
> "reasonable" prices, take a look at my paper, 
> http://rider.wharton.upenn.edu/~faulhabe/Policy-Induced%20Competition.pdf .
>
> Professor Gerald Faulhaber <http://rider.wharton.upenn.edu/~faulhabe>
> Business and Public Policy Department
> Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
> Philadelphia, PA 19104

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