ISP's In Uproar Over Verizon-MCI Merger

["Fergie (Paul Ferguson)" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

Dan Neel writes in CRN.com:

[snip]

The California ISP Association (CISPA) claims the merger of Verizon Communications and MCI will threaten ISP business 
models.

CISPA represents more than 180 ISPs. Mike Jackman, executive director of the Sacramento, Calif.-based organization, 
said the multibillion-dollar Verizon-MCI merger, announced in February, will run many pure-play ISPs out of business or 
force them to diversify their offerings--possibly into more value-added services that could compete with those provided 
by VARs and system integrators.

Verizon and MCI expect to close their merger by the end of the year. Another blockbuster telecommunications 
merger--between SBC Communications and AT&T--also is slated to close by the end of this year or in early 2006.

Spurring the CISPA complaint is an Aug. 5 Federal Communications Commission decision to reclassify DSL service as an 
information service instead of a telecom service, which Jackman said frees phone companies like Verizon from 
regulations requiring them to share bandwidth with ISPs. The FCC has placed a one-year grace period on enforcement of 
the change, he added.

[snip]

http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml;jsessionid=P4TBQHJM0MMKYQSNDBESKHA?articleId=169600170

Sorry for the long URL.

- ferg

--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg () netzero net or fergdawg () sbcglobal net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/