They've learned to play the game one way . . . They're still having to play by the old rules while the rules are being rewritten. Those areas have the critical mass that allows competitors to move in and woo away big business customers with rates cheaper than those offered by incumbent telephone companies. The farther a customer is from those business centers, the more expensive and, it is argued, the less desirable the business. Serving high-cost customers has become a key issue for incumbents, who say they and those customers will end up shouldering an oppressive burden in a competitive marketplace.
Competitors say they have to enter the market where it is most profitable.
They vow to move into residential markets when the time is right. The fund aims to preserve the current affordability of basic phone service for all customers. While debate rages about the specifics of that proposal, incumbent and competitor telecommunications companies exchange fire about how much real interest there is in reaching high-cost customers. The shouting match can reach such a fevered pitch that making sense of it is like sorting out a schoolyard brawl. It sort of comes with the territory.