[Reg]FCC opens door to ISP wipe-out

viking

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/06/fcc_dsl/

US telecoms regulator the FCC has signaled the end of the independent ISP, a move which will leave DSL provision concentrated in the hands of just a few large providers. The move, which turns local DSL provision from a regulated monopoly into an unregulated monopoly, also has repercussions for rural telephony providers, who will lose a chunk of subsidy, and has potentially chilling consequences for free speech.

Unless state regulators step into the void just vacated by the Federal regulator, however, every independent DSL provider will find itself at the mercy of the Baby Bells when its contract expires - and the Baby Bells have no compulsion to renew those competitors' contracts.

In a statement today the FCC said it was scrapping the mandatory [DSL wholesale] sharing requirement on incumbents that "caused vendors to delay development and deployment of innovations to consumers."

Much depends on what the ILECs - the wholesalers today - decide to do when the ISP contracts expire. No ISP large or small is safe, but it's hard to see the ILECs pulling the rug away from the larger DSL ISPs such as AOL or Earthlink without a fight. The largest ISPs have the legal and financial clout to make termination of their contracts at the very least awkward experience for the Baby Bells.

A worrying decision by the FCC for American consumers.

damien

Daivd Isenberg sums it up well

The rise of faith-based policy instead of strict rules to protect consumers. Have they been taking trips to Ireland?