[1st-mile-nm] Qwest promotion ignites regulatory battle

[John Osmon]

[...]
> "We're losing customers every day, all day, because competitors are
> under-pricing us," Armenta said. "We don't begrudge consumers making smart
> decisions, but we're asking the PRC to let us make promotional offers like
> our competitors."
 
Hmmm...  Sounds like it is time for a regulatory change more than
anything else.

The mandate of the ILECs is to provide the infrastructure -- in the past
that meant the both wire and voice service.  In the past, you couldn't
really separate the two easily.  Now, the infrastructure (wire and fiber) is 
orthogonal to the service (voice).

Why not let Qwest participate in the bounty that this creates?  IXCs
used to carry traffic between LATAs.  Why not turn the ILECs into pure
infratructure plays?  They sell *access* to the folks selling the
services -- on a level playing field.

Qwest (voice servcies) could sell at any price they wanted.  They'd be
free to buy access to their customer via Qwest (regulated
infrastructure), or any other infrastructure provider.  The state would
get to regulate *where* services are available -- the market would
provide all the services as demand dictated...