Baby Bell Deregulation Bill Fails To Pass In Kansas

Masem writes "A rather interesting debate has been happening in Kansas recently that has been mirrored across the country, in that the baby Bells have been trying to urge state governments to remove the restrictions for them to offer their lines to outside parties; in exchange, the Bells have been promising to develop a strong broadband network in the state. (See, for example, this and this story on DSL Reports for efforts in Missouri and South Carolina.) However, the legislative commission in the Kansas House of Representatives that oversees the telecomm industry has voted against such deregulation, citing concerns on monopolies and competition, despite heavy lobbying by SBC in favor of the bill. SBC has stated that they will now put their broadband deployment plans in Kansas on hold, but look towards the outcome of similar discussions on the same bill on the Senate side of the Kansas Congress."

Comments

Re:I'm not sure I see a problem here

[fireboy1919]

They don't? Enlighten me, then, what constitutes owning the lines?

I suppose they don't own the cable running into my home, but don't they own the switches that make it possible? Isn't it the switches that are expensive, and also something that we can only have so many of?

Maybe I'm wrong and the ultimate control of the hardware isn't up to Bell...but then why would they be doing this push? I think you're wrong here.