The truth is that there is nothing that prevents Bell companies from offering DSL service today. There is nothing that prevents Bell companies from offering Internet access to consumers today, either. Lobbyists who espouse this position either weren't involved in the debate over the act or are suffering from a convenient bout of telecommunications amnesia. The truth is that the Telecommunications Act was about competition - with provisions designed to encompass new technologies offering voice, data or any other telecommunications service. The underlying logic of the Bell companies' argument is as unappealing today as it was when it was rejected in 1996.
Consumers are right to reject such an offer.
It would drastically diminish Wall Street's interest in capitalizing the advancement of a competitive infrastructure and telecommunications job growth would needlessly be imperiled as a result. And again, we must remember that the Bell companies can offer DSL service today. Congress should be asking them why they didn't provide Americans with digital service any earlier. After all, the Bell companies have had DSL technology for years. Only when competition arrived did incumbent Bell companies move more aggressively to match the new digital offerings emerging in the marketplace.