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FCC Abandons Linesharing, Kills DSL Competition

Posted by timothy on from the where-are-my-leo-sats dept.

raygundan writes "According to Reuters, the FCC today decided to greatly curtail the laws that force incumbent phone companies to share their lines with their competition at cost. This does not bode well for companies like Covad Communications who provide DSL using phone lines to bridge their data networks over the "last mile" to customers. The new rules do force line sharing as long as companies are willing to offer voice service, but this essentially states that if you are not already a phone company, you cannot offer DSL. The existing rules will be phased out over three years. There is still some hope, however, that a federal court might strike down the FCC ruling. Oddly, the news agencies seem to be reporting this as a minor change to the rules, rather than an end to all non-ILEC competition in DSL." The FCC's front page has links (luckily PDFs as well as Microsoft Word files) about the decision, including statements from each of the commissioners.

9 of 603 comments (clear)

  1. It's times like this ... by B3ryllium · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's times like this I thank GOD I'm a a secret agent man.

    Erm, I mean, a Canadian.

    1. Re:It's times like this ... by Guppy06 · · Score: 2, Funny

      "It's times like this I thank GOD I'm a a secret agent man."

      Could be worse. You could be a sequined Asian man.

    2. Re:It's times like this ... by B3ryllium · · Score: 2, Funny

      God Ate My Homework - Secret Asian Man.

      "He's got more gigs than the Jackson Five!" :)

  2. Beautiful by sawilson · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll start dusting more places on the bench off
    for the inevitable flood of layed off tech
    workers.

    --

    The most important thing any republican needs to know.
  3. See? Money Well Spent. by Esion+Modnar · · Score: 3, Funny

    What else is for sale?

    --

    They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
  4. No DSL and no Jolt make Homer somthing, somthing. by Kenja · · Score: 4, Funny
    Go crazy?

    Bottom line is if they do this they'll have a Jolt crazed tech geek attacking their office with a Nerf(tm) crotch bat. I need my Speakeasy DSL service.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  5. BAH! by sevensharpnine · · Score: 4, Funny

    Then fuck the FCC! I hereby call upon all slashdotters to boycott those worthless...wait a minute...oh shit...

    --

    --
    "God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." -Voltaire
  6. Funny by RealTimeFreeAgent · · Score: 1, Funny

    Let's run an experiment to see if not-very-subliminal advertising works on the moderators.

    --
    "You get what you pay for after all." --
  7. Re:Why does this guy get a 5 on the FUNNY scale? by B3ryllium · · Score: 2, Funny

    By "That Guy", do you mean Chris Rock or myself? Personally, I kinda like Chris Rock in movies, but I haven't seen much of his stage stuff. Dogma was fun. I'm more of a George Carlin fan for standup comedy, though.

    You're just bitter because you've never got two first posts in a row ... but that's OK. Only a loser with no life gets two first posts in a row. :)