Local Lines May Go Away... But Could Be Replaced By VoIP

from the just-as-they-planned dept

When the FCC was discussing what to do about requiring RBOCs to offer regulated access to local phone lines, one thing many were arguing was that if the regulated pricing was taken away, it would help jumpstart other technologies like wireless and VoIP offerings. Of course, the FCC ended up not going that far, but once a federal court went over their heads many started predicting the end of competition in the telco market. They seemed to get a lot of support for that idea in the last couple weeks as AT&T announced they were killing local phone service in seven states. However, many people ignored the other side of the equation. This move may harm local phone service... but does local phone service matter that much? Just days after announcing those plans to cut back on local phone service, AT&T announced plans to expand their CallVantage VoIP offering to new locations - including some locations where they're ditching local service offerings. In other words, exactly as some predicted, cutting out RBOC line sharing may have cut down on local phone service competition, but is pumping up alternatives.

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