| Bad news for those in the black. This is what deregulation of the communication industry has brought about:
Companies only want the "Gravy Train". Deregulation only makes it easier for corporate greed to thrive.
I can't blame these companies. Would you rather invest money in a Central Office in Houston,Texas and pick up 20,000 customers or go to Stamps, AR and invest money to pick up 13 customers.
In the past, the Telcos were forced to provide "universal" service. That is, service to everyone in the area they have elected to serve, no matter how rural.
The fact is, it cost much more to provide and maintain rural facilities. The telcoes would use rates charged to business and metropolitan customers to help subsidize rural service and keep rural services affordable. Now they are losing alot of the lower overhead, metropolitan service to the CLEC, yet are still expected to maintain affordable rural service and continue to spend money upgrading these facilities.
I see lots of ILEC bashing that goes on. I see the CLEC being treated as if it had been mistreated by the ILEC. You can bet one thing, the CLEC is not going to build a network in Podunk, TX. Instead, the CLEC just sits back and waits on the ILEC to upgrade a Central Office exchange, and then jumps in and wants to start offering DSL accross the upgraded ILEC facilities.
I don't know what the incentives are for an ILEC to upgrade it's exsisting Outside Plant. ILEC's are told how much they can charge, they are told they must allow CLEC's to use part of their facilities and central office space, and how much they can charge the CLEC. The CLEC is allowed to charge the same (or even higher, i guess)rates for DSL as the ILEC.
So explain to me how a company, not required to provide service to the higher overhead, rural customers, is allowed to charge the same rates as the ILEC, while using the ILEC facilities. It looks like it is being left totally up to the ILEC to extend the DSL coverage areas, yet they get no more profits than the CLEC.
Sounds like a raw deal to me, which is bad for the areas "in the dark" on the map.
While dergulation may stimulate competition within the metropitan areas and drive prices there down, everyone else is SOL. |
