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DSL

Fight The Powers That Be

Members of the ISP-DSL list discuss the difficulties of fighting monopolies. They complain that when the telcos charge $39.95 to users, and charge $34.94 to resellers, they are effectively preventing competition.

[February 17, 2001]

On the ISP-DSL list in January, JN queried,

"What's going on? Have we collectively given up on seeking any legal help against the DSL monopolies?"

MB recommended funneling ISP's frustrations into advertising dollars:

"What about putting together a national television and newspaper campaign to shame the politicians into actually standing up for their constituents? Just stick to the facts: tell the public that it costs about $34.94 for your DSL lines, and that you can only sell them at $39.95 and provide the modem and setup free, etc. Tell them about the legislation that has been enacted to let you in on a fair playing field, but that enforcement is almost nil. Tell them about the jobs you create and the contribution you make to your local economies."

A number of respondents countered that a letter-writing campaign would be more effective:

[SA explained] "The thing about advertising is that one-shot deals don't work: you have to hit people again and again. Pulling donations for a national ad campaign would be futile. But it doesn't take that much time or money to write a letter to someone in Congress, or to your state legislator. Imagine what it would mean if Congress got letters from 7,000 ISPs about this, not to mention from the customers of 7000 ISPs."

[FA added] "It would useful to collect actual stories of the LECs' abuse, actual customer case histories, that could be presented to regulators and representatives. 10,000 examples of something are hard to ignore, even if they are anecdotal, as the LEC lawyers are sure to say. The LECs have legal departments; we have the Internet to collect and share information. The stories could even be categorized by district so that representatives would recognize their constituents."

[JN agreed] "If we can get enough anecdotes about what the monopolies are doing, we could create an extensive document for ISPs to send to their representatives, to FCC offices, and to news organizations as press releases. 7000 ISPs can't compete with Bell's lobbyists; we need public opinion on our side. The only way to do this is to write very well supported articles which can be released to anyone and everyone. We must organize, plain and simple."

Other respondents suggested legal action as a last resort:

[RD noted] "The lobbying campaign might work, but someone may want to consider starting a legal defense fund too. When all other measures fail, the courthouse might do the trick."

[TR agreed] "7000 ISPs donating $1000 each would make for a pretty good legal defense fund…"

Others noted that ownership of the copper is the real issue:

[NT contended] "What really needs to happen is that the copper needs to be taken away from the LECs and given to a regulated body who can only sell it to telcos and has no reason to favor one company over another. It's the only way to guarantee fairness in this industry."

[TR agreed] "I've always thought that the telcos needed to be separated from the copper. Nothing would level the playing field faster. The copper is a public asset and should be managed under a public franchise."

—End