[BC] The FCC bends over...AGAIN

[Tom]

Maybe, maybe not.  In many cities, there are lease agreements in 
place between the power company and the phone and cable folks - which 
might have some sort of restriction about who can put what on the 
pole.  If the power company were to string fiber so they could 
provide communications infrastructure to their customers, they'd be 
in direct competition with their tenants.  Probably run into all 
sorts of hurdles, and not just FCC ones - Justice would probably 
start looking at anti-trust violations, the local utility regulatory 
bodies would be holding all sorts of hearings...

Tom S.

Broadcast List wrote:
>Well, the problem is really a non-starter for several reasons:
>
>Technology is marching on.  Verizon is about to bring fiber directly 
>into my home via their FIOS service.  Other companies are doing this 
>and other similar services around the country.
>
>BPL is SLOW.  It has been surpassed by other services increasing 
>their speeds.  Both DSL and cable have multiplied their speeds by a 
>factor of four in the last two years.
>
>BPL is EXPENSIVE, both for the customer and for the power 
>company.  If the power company lowers their prices to be able to 
>compete with DSL and cable, they won't make a profit, and we know 
>that they are not interested in giving anything away, nor should they.