Fast Net News, DSL Prime, DOCSIS Report

New York, Washington and 20M+ Lines “Killed” LTE at $60 minimum rural, FiOS at $70 urban. “Every place we have FiOS, we are going to kill the copper. We are going to just take it out of service,” CEO McAdam is completely clear. “Areas that are more rural and more sparsely populated, we have got LTE built that will handle all of those services and so we are going to cut the copper off there.”
   Verizon is going to shut down the copper phone network for 18M homes with FiOS and millions more in rural areas they serve with LTE. I believe they also intend to shut down the copper network where neither they nor anyone else offers a wireless alternative.  “It is not sustainable to keep having copper plant out there,” says CEO McAdams. “We have got parallel networks in way too many places now, so that is a pot of gold in my view. So margins can improve.”
    Lowell is right it's illogical to continue the copper network where fiber is available but under present rules it would be a disaster for many. DSL prices have been from $15-35 for most people, although Verizon has recently raised their minimum to about $50 by requiring a voice line. FiOS prices now begin at $70. This makes a mockery of "affordable broadband," especially when Verizon and AT&T are boycotting the plan for discounts for poor schoolchildren. The detente between telcos and cablecos means the prices of modest Internet speeds (3-15 megabits down) are typically going up from $30-45 to $55-70.

   In addition, competitors who now share the copper network will typically be totally $@$#$@. Nationwide, alternatives to the telco/cablecos have less than 5% of the residential market but in some areas they remain important. The most interesting, Sonic.net in California, offers unlimited calls and Internet up to 20 meg for $50/month, 20-50% cheaper than AT&T. Their customer service, as measured by DSL Reports, is far better,4,57 out of 5, all A ratiings. AT&T gets a 3.25, all B’s and C’s. Sonic.net and similar companies be totally trashed if unbundled copper is ended in U-Verse territory. Competitors are important to many small businesses. (get number) They too would be $@$#$@, as would their customers.
  Lowell at Verizon and Randall of AT&T intend to leave vast areas of the country without any service at all. See 20% Of U.S.: Satellite Or Leave

   New York City’s five million homes and businesses are scheduled for universal FiOS coverage by 2014, delayed from the 2012 deadline originally agreed by the company. I’m waiting to hear from the city DOITT how many are actually covered and whether Verizon is living up to the franchise agreement. Rumor has it Verizon is including in the figures homes that actually can’t get service.
  Verizon stopped building FiOS in 2010 at about 16 million “homes passed” except for “fill-ins.” The remaining 3 millions homes are mostly in a few cities that had demanded universal coverage as a condition of a video franchise: New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Boston, Baltimore, Buffalo and other cities are not being served, after Verizon cut 4-5M planned homes in 2009.  

   Unbundling Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse at $15-25/line is the natural solution if politicians had any courage.