* * * * *
                                        
     “We're the phone company, we <em>don't</em> have to care about DSL … ”
                                        
> This is at the heart of why Verizon cancelled its purchase of Northpoint.
> It is why Northpoint is suing Verizon, and why some Verizon customers are
> suing over delayed DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) deployments. The ILEC
> (Incumbant Local Exchange Carrier)s actually WANT to delay DSL deployment.
> They don't want the technology to succeed too quickly because that would
> mean massive upgrades to field gear and cuts into profits. The only reason
> why any ILEC built out a DSL product line was because of competitive
> pressure from CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers)s and that darned
> Telecommunications Act of 1996, which they wanted so much at the time but
> now hate.
> 

Via Robot Wisdom, [1] Why Your Phone Company Hates DSL [2]

Now that he mentions it …

I was happy with ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network) when I had it,
even if the price was outrageous (although I wasn't paying for it). When
BellSouth [3] first offered ISDN, it was at a flat rate, but that didn't last
when they had to provide universal ISDN service. So metered service came in
to cover the installation costs to places like (need to find a remote Florida
city).

But I lost my ISDN connection. Or rather, the party that was paying for it
decided to pay for it no longer and the hours I keep on the Internet, I
couldn't afford to pay those bills. So out it went.

I just hope my IDSL service stays up …

[1] http://www.robotwisdom.com/
[2] http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20010222.html
[3] http://www.bellsouth.com/

Email author at sean@conman.org