First some definitions:
ISP - Internet Service Provider -
This is AT&T WorldNet, MCI, America Online, your regional provider,
or your local Mom&Pop service provider.
RBOC - Regional Bell Operating Company -
This is your local phone company,
BellSouth, Nynex, PacBell, etc.
The story goes something like the following. For a reasonable amount of money (like my $19.95 to AT&T WorldNet) I can get unlimited Internet access. This means I can dial a local (not long distance or toll free 800/888) phone number and stay connected to my ISP for as long as I want. This ties up the RBOCs local analog phone line for my flat monthly fee (about $14) for a phone line to my house.
Voice calls usually last about 3 minutes or less. Modem calls last 30 minutes or longer. The RBOC switching center can simultaneously connect only a subset of the total number of analog phone lines comming into their facility. The average holding time (or duration) for an average connection determines how many switch connections an RBOC needs to provide support equipment for in its switching centers. If more calls last longer the RBOC must purchase more telephone switching equipment. If the RBOC doesn't make more money as more calls last longer then they must pay for the equipment and installation expense out of the RBOCs pocket.
When an ISP goes into business it must purchase business rate analog phone lines from the RBOC. The business rate for this sort of analog phone line is anywhere from $50 to $75 dollars per month per phone line. If your ISP is somewhat larger then they will buy their lines as channelized T1 trunks of up to 24 circuits each. When bought in quantity, these can go for $30 to $50 per line. This can be a significant savings above that of individual analog phone lines. When a nation-wide service provider such as Compuserve , AOL, or AT&T WorldNet comes into an area, they buy only channelized T1 lines because of their lower volume cost and unattended maintenance capabilities. It also makes it easier to trunk the calls over multiple adjoining counties to their common backbone network. Given the quantity of business rate lines that have gone in at the RBOCs over the past few years in order to support the growth of ISPs, the RBOCs must have taken a "take the money and run to the bank" approach to reinvesting the difference between the residental and the business rate for all those phone lines.
The RBOCs should have been making the legitimate business decision and reinvested the majority of that profit into additional analog switching capacity in order to connect residental analog phone line users to all those ISP phones that they were installing.
I for one don't want the FCC to allow the RBOCs to charge my ISP for my connect time. The ISP is sure to pass the charge on to me. I don't want to pay the RBOC to do what they should have already done, put in more lines and switches.
I do have one question. If my ISP is an RBOC like PacBell or BellSouth, are they going to charge themselves for connect time on their own lines? If not, then the RBOCs will have an unfair monetary advantage over non-RBOC ISPs. The FCC should not allow this to occur.
My venting to the FCC at isp@fcc.gov
Aside from the FCC director, all FCC decision makers are either appointed or hired. This means that there is no way to vote them out of office for voting in favor of commerce over consititutes. For that reason, this sort of e-mail should be directed to the members of congress that vote for the director of the FCC. You might also want to send the e-mail to your state congress representatives and your state public service commission.
Monroe Wyatt Pattillo, Jr. (MWP)
monroe.pattillo@monroepattillo.com
Site installed: 09 Jan 97 by MWP
Site updated: Sunday, 12-Jun-2005 09:40:16 EDT by MWP