DSL Reports and a few items posted today and are worth the read. I suppose as Chairman Powell steps down sometime in March, we will see more commentaries being written. There is an article in Computer World and one in News.com by Declan McCullagh discussing the FCC is time to go. News.com also had an interview with Commissioner Copps.
At least 3,000 consumer letters were filed in the FCC's universal service docket (96-45) Wed. urging the FCC to reject a proposal to move to a flat fee for universal service fund contributions by carriers.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chmn. Specter (R-Pa.) said Thurs. that several recently announced telecom mergers were "a matter which requires a hearing."
Thanks to Cybertelecom for providing this information. Earthlink - Brand X Brief
Mammoth Brings Qwest DSL to Rural ISPs
Mammoth Networks, a DSL and ATM aggregator, this week rolled out wholesale DSL in six of the 14 states covered by Qwest Communications International Inc.
The service targets small, rural and regional ISPs who sell Qwest's DSL, and lets those customers bypass expensive circuits. So far, Mammoth, a relative newcomer to the industry, has signed nearly two dozen ISPs in the western United States.
See article on Phone+
From National Journal's Technology Daily Feb. 24
Randy Barrett
Small Internet service providers (ISPs) are gearing up for the fight over an expected rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act without a war chest or even a lobbyist. Instead, they pin their hopes on a grassroots battle royale."This is as pure a grassroots movement as you will see," said Cynthia De Lorenzi, co-founder of the Washington Bureau for ISP Advocacy (WBIA), which has 150 members.
The WBIA came into existence last fall to paper the FCC with hundreds of comments from ISPs and their customers against an effort by dominant telecom carriers to loosen federal regulations on sharing telecom networks. Small ISP owners are feisty, headstrong and fiercely independent, but they insist they can overcome their differences and work cooperatively as Congress decides the future of their industry.
"In the end, we all have to eat," said Paul Rice, interim executive director of the Federation of Internet Solutions Providers of the Americas (FISPA), which represents ISPs. Dominant telecom firms like Verizon Communications and cable companies have significant resources to fight for their interests on Capitol Hill. In the 2004 election cycle, telephone industry political action committees (PACs) gave $6.4 million to Republican and Democratic candidates. Cable industry PACs donated $2 million. The companies also employ fleets of lobbyists to press their cases before key players.
Small ISPs, however, are just trying to stay alive, industry officials said. "It's never been worse," said Kate Lynch, president of the National Internet Alliance (NIA). "People are going out of business at a fast rate." NIA was founded last summer and counts among its members the leading regional ISP associations. It has no lobbying staff and no budget. "The lack
of funds is a huge problem," Lynch said.
But ISPs can play off consumer ire, said Mark Uncapher, counsel for the Information Technology Association of America, which supports the existence of a robust, independent ISP industry.
When consumers realize that Congress could decide what programming they see, based on the Internet provider they can access, the dynamic will change dramatically, he said. "That's when the folks back home trump inside-the-Beltway lobbying."
Regional ISP associations are beginning to talk to one another about pooling resources and focusing their lobbying. FISPA is in discussions with unnamed groups, Rice said. And De Lorenzi said she is working to build a coalition. "We need not only money, we need people to take the time to share their expertise," she said.
EarthLink, one of the largest independent ISPs, also is working to build a lobbying coalition. "You will see the independent ISP industry speak with a much clearer and coherent voice," predicted David Baker, EarthLink's vice president for law and public policy.
Other established trade associations also are joining ranks with the ISPs as their interests coincide on the telecom rewrite. Among them is CompTel/ASCENT, which primarily represents local competitors to the Bells.
"They're a tenacious lot," CompTel/ASCENT lobbyist Mary Albert said of the ISPs. "They're pretty effective at getting their customers riled up."
Is she on here way out? Another staff member, Stacy Fuller of Comissioner Abernathy's office plans to leave soon, her staff announced plans to depart Wed. 02/23/2005.
The Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America are calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the recent telecom merger announcements. See news release here -
Filed on 02/22/2005 SBC and AT&T file their papaer work to the FCC - WC Docket 05-65. There are 4 public interest statements plus various officer statements totaling some 367 pages. Should make for some good sleep time reading.
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