babbster
join:2008-01-28
Saint Paul, MN
| reply to babbster
Re: Qwest Used FTTN DSL To Make Me Very Mad!
Mike,
Thanks for your insight; that's what I like about this board. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the CLEC ISPs are not getting the original plant or any new plant for free, are they?
I guess I was misinformed, but I got the impression that Qwest wouldn't let my ISP connect me over FTTN for any price. I agree with you -- Qwest should not have to subsidize their competitors.
If my ISP can't make a business case for accepting Qwest's offer of new lines, only my misrepresentation complaint remains. But that to me is a serious complaint. |
woodward
XMission Broadband
VIP
join:2000-12-28
Salt Lake City, UT
| You were not misinformed. Qwest will not let an alternate ISP service FTTN at any price.
Mike has a particularly one sided opinion on this larger issue. But then again, this *is* a political argument, and that generates strong opinion -- do you encourage competition on publicly subsidized infrastructure, or encourage monopoly with hopes that extraordinary profit will lead to technological investment? *Shrug* The current administration believes the latter, and its FCC made significant policy changes that reflect that.
But from a purely business standpoint, sure, Mike is right, why would Qwest want to share with competitors what they can operate as a monopoly?
But, no, of course CLECs don't get anything for free. In fact, we are only able to lease at a wholesale rate that is usually higher than the retail rate, which is why you see less and less CLEC options available on the open market.
And non-CLEC Qwest ISP partners are paying through the nose to provide DSL service to their subscribers in ATM and transport fees (on top of the user's own retail payments) so that, in fact, Qwest is making double profit on alternate ISP subscribers.
Maybe they've determined that the oversell margins on ADSL2+ more than compensate for that additional revenue on the ISP partner model. Or maybe they're just worried enough about encroaching technology that may render their network obsolete, and they're taking a white knuckle hold on everything they own. Their litigious history certainly could suggest the latter. |
