Re: Does Flat-Rate Unlimed User Access Threaten the Internet?

[RMavros@aol.com]

  The simple answer to Bill's question is no.   The "Internet" is not
  threatened, but indeed the public telephone network is under attack.  
  
  The telephone business is regulated, and the LEC's simply do not receive
  revenue from local calls.  And it is, from their perspective, local calls
  that are killing their switches.  Without revenue to support necessary
  expansion and upgrade, the local switches are begining to "brown
  out"...already we are seeing blocking arise in some areas.  The solution is
  for the LECs to deploy internet access networks built around xDSL (not ISDN)
  so that data traffic gets to the data network without entering the voice
  network.  This is an attractive proposition for the LEC: avoid otherwise
  unnecessary capital expendure, and provide new (high speed)
  revenue-generating service.
  
  With current flat-rate pricing, I am surely tempted to leave my PC connected
  24-hours a day, for which the telephone company gets...nothing.  
  
  If cost-based tarriffing applies to local telephone service, watch out!
   Rates will have to go up unless the RBOC's quickly roll out alternatives
  such as xDSL.