FCC to abolish copper lines. Then what?!

[twoescudo]

Hello All,

I have read that the FCC is keen on letting AT&T and Verison scrap their copper POTS lines. When that happens what will we DSL subscribers do? Switch to monopoly cable? Go dark? Use smoke signals? Commit mass Seppuku?

I read 30 percent of us (US) still use the copper POTS system. That's about 90 million people. That's way more people than the entire population of either France or Germany.

Sonic, what is going to happen to your customer base?

Steve

[thulsa_doom]

Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

The FCC's interpretation of the Telecommunications Act and resulting policies have been around for about ten years now, and the process has been something we keep in mind when making plans. Speaking for myself only, I think it's reasonable to assume that DSL isn't going to be a major player forever and everybody from regulators to carriers to end users are going to have to adjust to the times. Doing things like laying our own fiber infrastructure now instead of waiting for AT&T to start up public notification/comment proceedings puts us in a better position to keep offering a third choice instead of Big Cable and Big Telco.

[wa2ibm]

Then, sadly, we find another ISP, which will probably be cable.

The possibility that Sonic (or any other ISP) will bring fiber to my area before AT&T executes their scorched-earth policy is somewhere between nil and none. I'm in one of those areas served by underground utilities (expensive to lay fiber) and a remote terminal (can't get Fusion today, thus not on Sonics fiber horizon).

If it were up to me (which it clearly isn't), any ILEC that wants to abandon copper should be required to open their replacement network to competitors, just as was required for their copper networks. Additionally, they should not be allowed to abandon any ROW plant (overhead placements or underground duct) without turning it over to an alternative carrier.

[mailuser]

..any ILEC that wants to abandon copper should be required to open their replacement network to competitors, just as was required for their copper networks. Additionally, they should not be allowed to abandon any ROW plant (overhead placements or underground duct) without turning it over to an alternative carrier.

Your suggestions are sound and reasonable from my perspective ( I am not personally an incumbent local exchange carrier ) though sadly I will not be paying any lobbyists to get lawmakers to agree with me

[virtualmike]

+1

[fotogappr]

This may be over dramatic, but I somewhat feel abandon by Sonic. While I've been a user since 1995, I'm now on a stagnant DSL line (in the city limits of Bennett Valley). Others (Comcast) appear to provide faster service but while Sonic doesn't provide Fusion in my area, it appears they no longer sell DSL either. Therefore, as far as requiring a larger customer base to build the Fusion infrastructure, it will likely not happen. My portion of BV does not have fusion, Sonic no longer provides new DSL to customers, therefore, no growth for Sonic.net in my area. I'm a legacy user that has no where to go with Sonic.net in the near future...and Comcast turns my stomach. ATT doesn't provide a cable/fiber service in the area. If Sonic.net isn't the first to provide a high-speed alternative service, then who ever does will reap the benefits of this area.