[OT] Verizon/FairPoint sale (was: Comcast!?!?)

[Bill McGonigle]

>   Oh, well, that's something else.  That does not mean Vitts was
> regulated differently.  That just means that only a certain population
> cared when Vitts folded, and that population wasn't big enough to do
> anything drastic about it.  It would appear the regulations are the
> same.  No?

No, the FCC says that if nobody else can get you service the rules  
are different.  I don't know that they spell them out then in their  
pretty webpages.

>   So I point out that you, yourself, might be in a similar boat: If
> the people in charge at the PUC couldn't get good telecom service, I'm
> sure they'd do something about Verizon *then*.  But since it's just
> you people who have the misfortune to live in a rural area North of
> Concord, well, then, that's no big deal.  Unless you are you.  In
> which case, it's a big deal, indeed.

True, I suspect!  I should investigate.

>> Sometimes life is like that - that doesn't mean the
>> government should interfere in markets.
>
>   Didn't you just post a link to the FCC website declaring that they
> should do exactly that?

They will, but I believe they should not.  A pissed-off populous is  
good for getting things done.

>   Never forget that it is a consequence of laissez-faire economics
> that the customers who made the mistake of choosing the looser in an
> economic battle deserve what they get, and should be hung out to dry.

True.  I don't know whether the CLEC arrangement is a good way to  
deal with natural monopolies or if it simply ameliorates a situation  
that would be better solved in its absence.  One might use Comcast  
VOIP as a point of comparison.

>>>> Only in PSNH country.
>
>   Thanks for making my point for me!  :-)

I guess I misunderstood what it was then. ;)  PSNH appears to be very  
poorly managed while others aren't.  Perhaps the real question is,  
"what do you do about a poorly managed monopoly?"  I guess nobody knows?

>>   Ah.  Well, that sounds somewhat better, although "burn all their
> cash-on-hand" doesn't exactly sound promising.  Would that just mean
> they'd run out of money later rather than sooner?

Depends if things ever turn around from the "all-worst-case"  
scenario, I suppose.  Certainly many public companies have very  
little cash on hand compared to their stock price.  One of our  
favorites has more in outstanding stock option liabilities than  
liquid assets.

>   Unfortunately, I'm not really qualified to interpret big corporate
> financial statements.  Of course, I have to ask: Are you?  (And if you
> are, how do I talk you into becoming the GNHLUG Treasurer?  :)  )

I'm just reiterating what the PUC said.  I guess I have been known to  
watch CNBC more often than I should, that's about it.

>   No argument there.  Maybe the proper solution is to have everyone
> write their state legislature and have them fix *that* problem?

Excellent.  What should we say?

>   One proposed alternative which may help is called "structural
> separation".  Briefly, it means one company owns the common
> infrastructure -- copper/fiber on the poles, CO buildings, termination
> points, etc., -- but is forbidden from participating in proving
> service on same.

I understand this is the model that wireless telecomm operates under  
in Finland and it's a non-zero-sum game in which everybody is pretty  
happy.

>   Disclaimer: Though who have been abused by the ILEC tend to be in
> favor of structural separation.  Maybe I'm just parroting my peer
> group's groupthink.

I do wonder why CLEC's haven't made this a de-facto arrangement.  One  
might have supposed that after Telecomm '96 CLEC's would have offered  
such good packages that Verizon would wind up a network operator.   
That didn't happen.  I'd like to know why.

> http://isp-lists.isp-planet.com/isp-wireless/

Cool, thanks.
-Bill

-----
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