PT Already reeling from a declining economy and a cash crunch, Internet service providers around the country are worried that the Baby Bell local phone companies are winding up for a knockout punch. At stake is more than ISPs' fragile business models.
Competition means lower prices and often better service for consumers.
With fewer network providers or ISPs in the market, there will be more opportunity for higher prices on everything from basic dial-up service to the fastest business connections. But as the smaller network companies tumble into oblivion, ISPs say they are under renewed pressure from the local phone companies. In some places ISPs say this takes the form of advertisements telling potential customers not to trust smaller companies. They also report the Bells are making slow progress in offering the network connections ISPs need to offer service to their customers. But nowhere have the large phone companies been more aggressive than in Congress, where in recent weeks they've pushed hard for a new bill that would make them much more powerful in the high-speed Internet market.