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Network World, 11/22/99
Start looking forward to lower DSL
prices and faster installation times.
The Federal Communications Commission says that
established local phone companies must allow
competitors to sell DSL services on the same phone
lines that the local carriers are using to carry voice
services - a procedure called line sharing.
The ruling, issued last week, means competitive
carriers will no longer have to wait to get separate lines
installed. That translates into services getting turned up
faster.
The ruling also means the competitive carriers won't
have to lease entire separate lines. "That's money we
can pass on to our customers," says Chip Ach, chief
technology officer for DSL provider HarvardNet.
In addition, installation fees will drop. If a new line has
to be installed, the established local phone company has
to send a technician to the house. That cost, which can
be hundreds of dollars, gets passed on to customers.
The competitive carriers have complained that regional
Bell operating companies (RBOCs), which own the
bulk of local phone lines in the U.S., overcharge them
for leasing local loops.
Those fees range from $3 to $40 per month, says
Michael Olson, deputy general counsel for DSL
provider NorthPoint. The FCC says RBOCs can't
charge competitors more than their own subsidiaries
that sell DSL via line sharing. RBOC filings with the
FCC indicate there is no additional cost to them to use
the phone wires to also carry DSL.
States will set the actual prices competitors will pay.
- Tim Greene
