About a year ago the FCC ruled that the phone company's DSL circuits were not techincally part of the telecommunications network and not subject to the same regulations. The net result was that DSL was no longer tariffed and that, like the cable TV companies, they were under no obligation to provide access to 3rd-party providers.
At the time many of us were predicting that the phone company would take advantage of this ruling to gain complete control over all Internet traffic flowing over phone company circuits and kill off the
3rd party independent ISPs. The FCC asked for a one-year waiting period before the phone company took any action. That year is now almost up.
Yesterday I received my copy of a notice that Verizon Data has been sending to all of their DSL customers:
Dear Valued Customer,
On September 23, 2005, the FCC released an order in which it concluded that Verizon was no longer required to offer DSL services under tariff. In place of a tariff, the FCC order allows Verizon to offer DSL services under commercial contract.
This letter is to advise you that effective August 14, 2006, Verizon will begin offering Verizon Infospeed DSL Solutions on a month-to-month or annual plan basis and Verizon Inforspeed Premium DSL Solutions on an annual plan basis (Verizon DSL Service) under contract pursuant to terms that will be posted on Verizon's website at the following URL:
After August 13, 2006, Verizon DSL Service will no longer be available for purchase from Verizon's FCC tariffs. This change affects Verizon DSL Service in all geographic locations in which Verizon makes the service available. Should you wish to negotiate other terms for the purchase of Verizon DSL Service, or if you have any questions about this change, please contact Verizon at 1-877-483-3651.
Sincerely,
Peter Castleton Director, Product Management/Product Development Verizon Broadband Solutions
The statement I found most interesting was "until at least November
15, 2006." To me that says they're planning additional changes in another three months. Neither my ISP nor myself have been able to get Verizon to tell us what they're planning. According to my ISP, in a correspondence just a couple of days ago,
The removal of the FCC tariff regulations for DSL providers has been rather nerve wracking for independent ISP's over the last year. Verizon in particular has been extremely vague regarding its intentions once the regulations completely end in August. They have not as yet provided us with any detailed information as to what changes will occur for our customers, nor to our relationship with Verizon in general, other than that changes will occur. .... I simply cannot guarantee beyond doubt that we will be able to operate as a Verizon host ISP after November. The communications from Verizon state that we will be in operation through them between August and November, but we have not established any information beyond then.
I cannot imagine that Verizon and the other phone companies will leave such easy money laying on the table just to maintain the status quo. The FCC has made it possible for them to forcibly absorb all of the DSL customers of all independent ISPs. And because there will be no choice for DSL subscribers they can do it without having to worry about such trivial things as service options or quality of service.
In one fell swoop they'd go from competing with hundreds of ISPs, who differentiate themselves primarily on the basis of quality and customer service, to only competing with the cable companies. And that's not much competition since the basic package from Comcast is now almost $60/mo, and there's generally only one cable provider in any given service area.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this is what will happen once the phone companies have complete control over what flows through their wires. "Net Neutrality" is a phrase that's generated a lot of angst lately. Some, mostly industry representatives, claim it's unfounded. A recent article on Newsforge has made an interesting comparison with the current cellular phone network to demonstrate what can happen in the closed network environment that the phone companies are trying to create.
He is writing the article pseudonymously because the cell phone companies have the power and freedom to crush his company by blocking it from their networks.
The evolving oligarchy is going to have the power to control the who, what, where, when, why and how of your Internet usage. There are some very smart people who can creatively manipulate that into profit. I wish someone would tell my why they won't.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
John Meissen snipped-for-privacy@aracnet.com