That's why I believe all the major lecs are refusing to submit for funds due to all the red tape that comes with that money. Eg. (Nondiscrimination and interconnection obligation) they are really pushing network openness something I don't think the lecs want to do with their fiber plant. Carlos Alcantar Race Telecommunications, Inc. 101 Haskins Way South San Francisco, CA 94080 P: 650.649.3550 x143 F: 650.649.3551 -----Original Message----- From: JC Dill [mailto:jcdill.lists@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 9:51 PM To: NANOG list Subject: Re: FCCs RFC for the Definition of Broadband Leo Bicknell wrote:

What Telecom companies have done is confused infrastructure and equipment. It would be stupid to plan on making a profit on your GSR over 30 years, after 10 it will be functionally obsolete. When it comes to equipment the idea of 1-3 year ROI's makes sense. However, when it comes to fiber or copper in the ground or on a pole it has a 20, 30, 40, or even 50 year life span. To require those assets to have a 1-3 year ROI is absurd.

What happens if we have improvements in data transmission systems such that whatever we put in now is obsolete in 15 years? What happens if we put in billions of dollars of fiber, only to have fiber (and copper) obsolete as we roll out faster and faster wireless solutions? IMHO the biggest obstacle to defining broadband is figuring out how to describe how it is used in a way that prevents an ILEC from installing it so that only the ILEC can use it. If the customer doesn't have at least 3 broadband choices, there's no real choice, and pricing will be artificially high and service options will be stagnant and few. Look at what happened to long distance rates and telephone services once Ma Bell was broken up and businesses started competing for customers. I remember when we paid more than $35 a month for long distance fees alone (and about that much more for our basic service, including phone "rental") when I was a teenager in the 1970s. Without competition, with inflation, that same long distance bill would easily be over $100/month today. Yest today, more than 30 years later you can get a cell phone with unlimited minutes, unlimited domestic long distance, for $35/month (e.g Metro PCS). Let's not make this mistake again and let the ILECs use TARP funds to build "broadband" to the curb/home that only they get to use to provide internet services to the customers. jc