The Devil Is In The Details, Isn’t It?

29 Dec 2006

There are some days where I am glad that there are smart people like Jeff Pulver and sites like Techdirt around to wade through all the fanfare to find the real truth behind the new concessions offered by AT&T in wake of the the stalled merger with BellSouth. It’s basically a lot of flowery language that basically affirms what they already planned on doing anyway: leave the old, copper-based network as is, but QoS the snot out of their new fiber network–where they will run their IPTV service–and charge competitors a pretty penny to use that fiber network. All while making it sound like a win for the consumer. Talk about spin doctoring.

While it’s possible the FCC commissioners will approve the merger today–and actually only one of the two FCC commissioners who disapproved of the merger needs to change their mind–it’s not over until it’s over. Let’s hope they read the fine print before signing their name on the dotted line. Maybe the two-year “limit” on Net Neutrality will be enough for them to say forget it. One can hope anyway.

Update: They approved it. Crap.

The PhoneBoy Blog

The Devil Is In The Details, Isn’t It?