FCC likely to deregulate DSL

Man, I really hope this proves to be a whole lot more than a ‘perhaps’. I believe that people are wanting more choices in their DSL providers and less of the reseller-mambo.

Broadband choices for consumers may soon become slim pickins if the Federal Communications Commission goes ahead with a plan to deregulate DSL service. At its monthly meeting tomorrow, the FCC is likely to reclassify DSL as an “information service” rather than a telecommunications service, which would put it on equal footing with cable Internet access in the eyes of the government.

As a refresher, information services are deregulated in the US, which means that cable companies are not compelled to lease their lines to other companies who would then offer competing products. In June the Supreme Court affirmed the FCC’s position when it ruled against Brand X, a California ISP that wanted to offer Internet service over the local cable company’s infrastructure. [Read the rest]