Broadband 'Redlining' Issue Raised In Fiber Deployment

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 06:58:25 -0800
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Broadband 'Redlining' Issue Raised In Fiber
Deployment

Broadband 'Redlining' Issue Raised In Fiber Deployment
  By  W.  David  Gardner
  Courtesy of   TechWeb.com
<http://advancedippipeline.com/news/60400223>

  Broadband "redlining"--the deployment of network upgrades in upscale
neighborhoods rather than in low-income urban areas--is becoming a hot
issue, as telephone companies continue to roll out their advanced
broadband technologies across the nation.

  In the latest episode, Massachusetts Congressman Edward Markey--a
long-time crusader against all forms of redlining--has focused on
Verizon Communications' Massachusetts fiber rollout, which has been
targeted primarily at upscale, mostly white, suburban communities.

  Markey, who hails from the working-class community of Malden, told the
Boston Globe: "I would be very interested to see which communities are
going to be on Verizon's next list of deployment to see whether places
like Malden that have diverse populations and more moderate incomes are
going to be provided with these competitive services."

  Elsewhere in the nation, SBC Communications was recently charged by a
group of Chicago inner-city clergymen with favoring upscale
neighborhoods for deployment of its high-speed fiber Project,
Lightspeed. Part of the debate centers on new "hands off" regulatory
measures, which the telephone companies believe enable them to install
fiber-optic networks without first obtaining local and state regulatory
approval.

  The telecommunications-redlining issue has a long history, and federal
legislators, including Markey, made sure the issue was addressed in the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. Markey, who is the senior ranking
Democrat on the U.S. House telecommunications subcommittee, is
monitoring the issue, not only in his district, but nationally.

  The latest Massachusetts issue was prompted by Verizon's move this
week to deploy its advanced fiber-optic network in four upscale Boston
suburbs. The Boston Globe pointed out that Verizon still hasn't
revealed any plans to install the coveted fiber service in Boston.

  A Verizon spokesman pointed out that fiber deployment is faster and
easier in the suburbs, noting that the firm plans to provide fiber also
to urban customers "without question, unequivocally." An urban
community that will receive fiber will be named soon, Verizon said.

  SBC‹which, like Verizon, is rolling out TV-capable fiber to compete
with cable companies--said the redlining charges leveled against it
were "a red herring." The firm said it will target "high-value
customers" wherever they are, with no regard to race or income.

  Earlier, in 2002, AT&T Broadband had been charged in a class-action
lawsuit in Florida for redlining high-speed broadband Internet service.
The firm denied the charges and said it would vigorously oppose the
suit.

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Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>


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