ISPs Now Have to Offer At Least 10 Mbps If They Want Subsidies → dsl under the microcscope

ATT and CenturyTel will be under the microscope for the slow speeds they currently offer to some customers.

At some point, the USF funds should go low market share companies who can build out fiber to the premise service offerings. These are the companies that can assure the FCC that 100% of their footprint is at high speeds-- RCN comes to mind (unlike the telcos). ATT and Verizon have been pigs at the USF trough for far too long wasting that money on padding profits (a - la Verizon's $20k routers to West Virginia which geographically has near NIL fiber lines running ANYWHERE in the state).

Verizon will be under the microscope too for its poor performance with DSL and the quality of POTS - FIOS is a gem sticking out from a heap of obsolete infrastructure.

The $20K router scandal was insane, but VZ never cared for C&P Tel of W.VA (The RBOC unit that VZ owned in W.VA). The regional managers would even lie that "yes FIOS is coming in 2007!" and then the sale to Frontier happened instead.

VZ never had any intention of laying down 1 inch of FTTP in W.VA. They only intended to sucker the state into overpriced Cisco routers and trash bags to hold up the aging copper network.

Its my understanding that Frontier is STILL cleaning up the infrastructure in W.VA and its been many years since the switch of power. I doubt it will ever be fully rebuilt, and quality of service outside of Comcast areas in W.VA will remain overall horrendous, equatable to the third world.

Makes you think of AT&T's (once BellSouth's) antiquated xFITL network they still have in parts of the Southeast. With IFITL, you get a whopping 1.5 mbps x 256k connection for $42/mo.