65 lines
3.3 KiB
Plaintext
65 lines
3.3 KiB
Plaintext
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- Computer Anarchists Underground Tfile #010 -
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Title: FCC opens local phone market
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Author: M.C. Allah
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Released: 9-18-92
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Well, this article appeared in the Houston Post on
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September 18, and I thought it might be of interest to some
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people, so here it is:
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FCC opens local phone market
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The Federal Communications Commission moved
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Thursday[9-17-92] to open the $90 billion local telephone
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exchange market to new competition.
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FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes said the order, which requires
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local exchange operators such as the regional Bell telephone
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companies to offer their facilities to smaller comminications
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companies, is "a historic step."
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He said access to local markets was "one of the few
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remaining monopoly reserves of the American telephone
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business."
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The decision could be a boon to such companies as
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Metropolitan Fiber Systems Inc. and Teleport Communications
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Group, both of which operate fiber optic networks in Houston.
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Under the order, "competitive access providers" such as
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Teleport will be able to install their equipment inside local
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telephone company switching centers, rather than having to run
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a dedicated line to a customer's building. The ruling will
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allow the competitive access providers to connect directly
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with long-distance carriers.
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Long distance companies have a similar arrangement,
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allowing interstate calls to pass through local telephone
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company networks and into the home.
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In a related move, the agency also adopted a new rate
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structure that would allow a two-year transition to more
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flexible pricing on fees charged by local service providers to
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long-distance carriers.
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The regional phone companies, created during the breakup
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of American Telephone & Telegraph Co. in 1984, initially had
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feared they might be hurt by the increased competition unless
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the FCC also adopted a new pricing structure.
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Analysts said the impact on regional phone company
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revenues would not be felt immediately, given the FCC's
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decision to phase in the new rate structure.
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What does this mean for us phreakers and hackers?
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Remember the AT&T breakup? It was in the confusion
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caused by this and the formation of new telephone companies
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like sprint and MCi that toll phraud was "safe." I would
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expect that these new phone companies
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will have a lot of problems with stopping k0de abuse at first,
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and probably the regional Bell companies will not be to happy
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to help them. So, I would expect some positive results from
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this change.
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[--------------------------------------M.C. Allah----------------------------]
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[------------------------------------]
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| Computer Anarchists Underground |
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| fARM R0Ad 666........[713]451-5760 |
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| ACiD CULT............[713]343-9844 |
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[------------------------------------]
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