FCC to Deregulate DSL & Put IISPs Out of Business
The FCC will
be deciding Tomorrow,
August 4, 2005, to unregulate DSL, according to the Wall Street
Journal. See copy here of article:
http://www.panix.com/~dberns/captive-dsl.wsj
After tomorrow's decision, your choices for Internet will be reduced to two providers: Your Phone Company or Cable.
Very few consumers are lucky enough to have a wireless or municipal alternative. (There are bills in Congress and at state capitols to prevent your town or county from building a broadband network).
In the short term, this means lower prices for some people.
In the long term, it means higher prices, higher taxes, less innovation and fewer jobs.
Higher taxes because areas without broadband will lose businesses and their tax base.
Fewer jobs because 7000 Independent Internet Providers will be shut down.
Fewer jobs because SBC and Verizon will be laying off almost 40,000 people due to their mergers.
Fewer jobs because without broadband businesses will move to communities that make broadband available.
By innovation, I mean, that DSL and Dial-up were brought to you - the consumer - by Independent Internet Providers. The Phone Company and Cable jumped on that bandwagon much later.
Innovation like Instant Messaging, Peer-to-Peer, Video email, VOIP (Voice over the Internet) - all of this was possible because of an open network situation that will be closed tomorrow.
Higher prices - Has your local phone bill or cable bill gone down or up since 1996? UP and UP. And with no competitive providers for Internet broadband, your DSL and cable modem rates will soar in 2 years.
Tell them that you want a Choice in your Internet Provider. And that deregulating DSL is the wrong path.
If the FCC wants to have parity, let them regulate cable modems.
To send email to all your Congressional Representatives, use this link:__________________________________
http://www.panix.com/~dberns/captive-dsl.wsj
After tomorrow's decision, your choices for Internet will be reduced to two providers: Your Phone Company or Cable.
Very few consumers are lucky enough to have a wireless or municipal alternative. (There are bills in Congress and at state capitols to prevent your town or county from building a broadband network).
In the short term, this means lower prices for some people.
In the long term, it means higher prices, higher taxes, less innovation and fewer jobs.
Higher taxes because areas without broadband will lose businesses and their tax base.
Fewer jobs because 7000 Independent Internet Providers will be shut down.
Fewer jobs because SBC and Verizon will be laying off almost 40,000 people due to their mergers.
Fewer jobs because without broadband businesses will move to communities that make broadband available.
By innovation, I mean, that DSL and Dial-up were brought to you - the consumer - by Independent Internet Providers. The Phone Company and Cable jumped on that bandwagon much later.
Innovation like Instant Messaging, Peer-to-Peer, Video email, VOIP (Voice over the Internet) - all of this was possible because of an open network situation that will be closed tomorrow.
Higher prices - Has your local phone bill or cable bill gone down or up since 1996? UP and UP. And with no competitive providers for Internet broadband, your DSL and cable modem rates will soar in 2 years.
Tell them that you want a Choice in your Internet Provider. And that deregulating DSL is the wrong path.
If the FCC wants to have parity, let them regulate cable modems.
Take
Action!
To send email to all your Congressional Representatives, use this link:
II4A Contact information:
http://www.ii4a.org,
email: isps@ii4a.org or phone
813-496-2122