Slashdot Mirror
FCC Decides ISP Calls are Long-Distance
Myko was the first to write in with an article confirming
that the FCC has decided that
ISP Calls are Long Distance. This
opens all sorts of problems that quite simply reduce down
to the consumer getting charged more money for our crappy slow
modem connections.
... I'm glad I call into work for Internet access. Next they'll be saying that calls to a radio station are long distance too since your voice can be broadcast further than your local calling area.
Need I say? This could blow... a lot. However, there's a couple of things to be considered here: If phone carriers decide to start charging per-minute rates on Internet access, all it would take is one upstart company who decides *not* to do so and they could have customers beating down the door, so maybe it won't fly AND could give new companies a foot in the door.
What really sucks here is that fact that, while the data does travel a long distance, IT DOES NOT DO IT VIA THE PHONE COMPANIES EQUIPMENT. The high-capacity data lines that an ISP uses, afaik could be laid by any number of comanies. Aside from that, it eventualy gets to a backbone provider which (again afaik) has nothing to do with the phone company and that's where most of the long distance travel comes in, right?
The phone company would be charging for the use of equipment that is not theirs! Unless I'm seriously wrong with my reasoning (please point it out if I am) how could anybody even consider that acceptable?