http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050811.html
By Robert X. Cringely
Last week, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission again bowed to the interests of the big telephone companies, and ruled that those telcos have no obligation to provide other Internet Service Providers wholesale access to their DSL networks. While this might look like a death knell for Earthlink DSL, for example, and vindication for AOL's and MSN's decisions to drop their own DSL businesses, that isn't necessarily the case. What IS the case, however, is that the decision has as much to do with telephone service as broadband, and the telcos are positively gleeful. Whether we consumers should be gleeful, too, isn't yet clear, but the answer right now is, "Probably not."
By Robert X. Cringely
Last week, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission again bowed to the interests of the big telephone companies, and ruled that those telcos have no obligation to provide other Internet Service Providers wholesale access to their DSL networks. While this might look like a death knell for Earthlink DSL, for example, and vindication for AOL's and MSN's decisions to drop their own DSL businesses, that isn't necessarily the case. What IS the case, however, is that the decision has as much to do with telephone service as broadband, and the telcos are positively gleeful. Whether we consumers should be gleeful, too, isn't yet clear, but the answer right now is, "Probably not."