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FCC unplugs states' rules on 'naked' DSL
CNET ^ | March 25, 2005, 3:47 PM PST | Ben Charny Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Posted on 03/28/2005 1:43:31 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Story last modified Fri Mar 25 14:08:00 PST 2005


The Federal Communications Commission on Friday started to investigate the competitive consequences of what's known as "naked DSL," it's first-ever serious look at the controversial issue.

The inquiry was part of a more focused FCC decision in which suspended public utility commission regulations in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana that forced BellSouth to sell DSL, or digital subscriber line, service separate from its local phone service to other telephone operators. In the past, the two services had been inextricably linked.

Such a decision sends a strong message to other state utility commissions that might be considering similar rules blamed for short-stopping the widespread availability of what's known as "naked" DSL. The Bells--BellSouth and the nation's three other top phone and DSL providers-have warned of the possibility of slightly different naked-DSL rules in all 50 states, which would slow broadband growth in the United States and undermine BellSouth's incentive to invest in the service and the underlying network. BellSouth also points out in FCC filings that some states have opposed naked-DSL rules.

Proponents of the state rule believe naked DSL keeps the Bells in check, competition thriving and broadband prices under control.

Naked DSL "protects the ability of consumers to make choices about their local service provider," Alabama utility regulators wrote to the FCC, in support of the state rules. "Contrary to BellSouth's claim, the state commission orders are protecting their local customers' rights to choice among local voice carriers."

A BellSouth representative said the decision affects the 8,000 people who have purchased naked DSL from BellSouth since 2002, when the first of the naked DSL rules went into place. The representative offered no further comment on any possible decision.

The Bells are mixed on naked DSL. Qwest has been selling naked DSL for months. Verizon Communications has said in the past that it intends to voluntarily sell a DSL-only service, but its self-imposed deadline has passed and there's still no offering. "In the past, we have always provided DSL with a phone number," Verizon Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg recent told the Senate Judiciary committee. "That’s the way we provide service. In the future, we are in the process of working through the mechanics of offering a DSL line without a phone number."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: fcc; govwatch; internet; technology
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1 posted on 03/28/2005 1:43:33 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: ShadowAce

fyi


2 posted on 03/28/2005 1:44:03 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (This tagline no longer operative....floated away in the flood of 2005 ,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh... He said "naked". Huh, huh, huh, huh...


3 posted on 03/28/2005 1:45:00 PM PST by Redcloak (But what do I know? I'm just a right-wing nut in his PJs whackin' on a keyboard..)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Words cannot express my disappointment.
4 posted on 03/28/2005 1:49:58 PM PST by CzarNicky (The problem with bad ideas is that they seemed like good ideas at the time.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Owl_Eagle
Naked DSL, now I know why the IT guys are always smiling.

Note to self, do not shake IT guys' hands or touch their keyboards.

5 posted on 03/28/2005 1:52:29 PM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (People too weak to follow their own dreams, will always find a way to discourage yours.)
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To: rdb3; chance33_98; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; Bush2000; PenguinWry; GodGunsandGuts; CyberCowboy777; ...

6 posted on 03/28/2005 1:53:27 PM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick
Those iT guys are jerks.  Always coming over and yelling at ME whenever the computer thingy breaks.  And ever since I asked them if I could warm my lunch up by putting it next to the firewall, I can do without all the pointing and laughing.
 
Owl_Eagle

7 posted on 03/28/2005 1:56:11 PM PST by End Times Sentinel (In Memory of my Dear Friend Henry Lee II)
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To: Owl_Eagle

ROFL!!!


8 posted on 03/28/2005 1:57:58 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (This tagline no longer operative....floated away in the flood of 2005 ,)
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To: Owl_Eagle

I told you they never help until you put the sticky on you forehead. The next time they have to fix my computer, I am going to have to disinfect my keyboard as well. With all of that naked DSL who knows where their hands have been.


9 posted on 03/28/2005 1:58:47 PM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (People too weak to follow their own dreams, will always find a way to discourage yours.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Another reason to separate the infrastructure from the service provider. One of many reasons Verizon is building its own Fiber Network.


10 posted on 03/28/2005 1:59:57 PM PST by neb52
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
It's funny because you need "outdated" technology on the phone circuits for DSL to work. So when you can't get DSL in your area it's usually not because you have an outdated phone network, it's because it's not outdated enough. sigh. Stupid FCC fighting a battle 5-10 years too late, as usual.
11 posted on 03/28/2005 2:03:59 PM PST by tfecw (Vote Democrat, It's easier than working)
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick

EWWWWWWW


12 posted on 03/28/2005 2:04:26 PM PST by al baby (Dick Trickle is not just a medical condition)
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To: neb52

Thanks for the info, I may be one of the rare people that has two potential providers for broadband.


13 posted on 03/28/2005 2:05:11 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (This tagline no longer operative....floated away in the flood of 2005 ,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Hard Disk space: the final frontier!
Hardware: The parts of a computer system that can be kicked.
hAS ANYONE SEEN MY cAPSLOCK KEY?
H lp! S m b d st l ll th v w ls fr m m k yb rd!
COMMAND: A suggestion made to a computer.
Hidden DOS secret: add BUGS=OFF to your CONFIG.SYS
ASCII a stupid question, get a stupid ANSI!
Hold a hard drive to your ear -- listen to the C:
I am a computer, dumber than any human and smarter than an administrator.
I am logged in, therefore I am.
I are Pentium of Borg. Division is futile. You will be approximated.
DIVORCE.BAT found....deleting C:\MARRIAGE\SPOUSE
I came, I saw, I deleted all your files.
I had a life once... now I have a computer and a modem. I know I'm supposed to back up my files, but I still haven't found reverse on my PC.
I was going to switch her to DOS, but she had a gun
I'll give up my Windows when they pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse.
If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0
If you read in the bathroom, is that multitasking?
In my next life I'm going to have more memory installed

Intel - still number 0.999873464508.
ISDN: I Still Don't kNow ISDN:
Idiot Services you Don't Need It said, "Insert disk #3," but only two will fit!
Jesus saves! The rest of us better make backups.
Klingon prompt: strike any user when ready.
Manual Writer's Creed: Garbage in, gospel out.
Mental backup in progress - Do Not Disturb! MicroSloth: "Bringing you ten-year-old technology, tomorrow, maybe."
MIPS: Meaningless Indicator of Processor Speed. Multitasking - screwing up several things at once.
My computer NEVER cras@#%^TU*NO CARRIER
My goo ness this arn keyboar oesn't have any 's.
My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.
Network: anything reticulated or decussated at equal intervals, with interstices between the intersections.
Never trust a computer you can't lift. - Stan Masor Never trust a computer you can't throw out the window. - S. Hunt
Nobody has ever, ever, EVER learned all of WordPerfect. Old programmers never die; they just give up their resources.
One person's error is another person's data.
One picture is worth 128K. Our system is very reliable. Nothing ever goes wr[}\-_+=~'{?>.(#$%{!`'?;f;fkj;uiutoiun;gt;to;g;g;t
PCMCIA: People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms
Programming Department: Mistakes made while you wait.
Programming is an art form that fights back.
RAM disk is not an installation procedure.
Real programs don't eat cache.
Remember the good old days, when CPU was singular?
Remember, UNIX spelled backwards is XINU.
Shell to DOS...Come in DOS, do you copy? Shell to DOS... Shift to the left! Shift to the right! Pop up, push down, byte, byte, byte!
Smith & Wesson - The ultimate "Point-and-Click"
Interface... Some programming languages manage to absorb change but withstand progress.
Southern DOS: Y'all reckon? (Yep/Nope)
System going down at 5 pm to install scheduler bug.
System halted. Press Enter key to continue.
System has erased all work in progress. Press any key to ignore and continue.
System has violated data integrity. Delete all data? Y/y
The computer is mightier than the pen, the sword, and usually, the programmer.
The Definition of an Upgrade: Take old bugs out, put new ones in.
The determined programmer can write a FORTRAN program in any language.
The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance.


14 posted on 03/28/2005 2:19:25 PM PST by HuntsvilleTxVeteran (When you compromise with evil, evil wins. AYN RAND)
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To: ShadowAce

Okay, put me on it.


15 posted on 03/28/2005 2:27:01 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: tfecw
So when you can't get DSL in your area it's usually not because you have an outdated phone network, it's because it's not outdated enough. sigh.

Or in my case because I lived 100 meters too far out. That sucked.

16 posted on 03/28/2005 2:29:01 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: HuntsvilleTxVeteran
Intel - still number 0.999873464508.

best one on the list..

17 posted on 03/28/2005 2:31:07 PM PST by N3WBI3
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To: antiRepublicrat

Yeah :) there's that too. I'm sort of in a similar situation. The guys a mile down the road have DSL, but I don't get it. But i get cable so it works out okay. Although my bill did magically go up by like 2 bucks last month.


18 posted on 03/28/2005 2:35:24 PM PST by tfecw (Vote Democrat, It's easier than working)
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To: tfecw
. I'm sort of in a similar situation.

Worse for me since where I was dialup on ISDN was very expensive, and I only moved to that house based on the phone company's promise that DSL would be there not long afterwards. So I moved in, waited, and found out that they'd cancelled their plans to put another switch closer to my house.

I was working on getting my neighbor to get DSL (yes, he could get it while I couldn't), then run directional antennas with wireless to get my feed, but I moved out before I could do it. Now I have cable that gives me about 2.5 mbps down, and that's more than what they said in the brochure!

19 posted on 03/28/2005 2:47:11 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: HuntsvilleTxVeteran

BEEP BEEP BEEP YIP YIP YIP YIPE #$^%&&@ ... LOST TERRIER


20 posted on 03/28/2005 2:50:40 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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