> ILECS were required for a while (still are?) to sell access to their central office DSLAMs.
It was just the copper, not the DSLAM access. What you could do is buy colo space at the CO and install your own DSLAM, and the ILEC was required to cross connect the copper to your cage. What you did from there was your business, as was all of the CPE.
I worked at a CLEC for 10 years during the good times. Even set up a few of our colos myself back in the day. I still think we (the US government) should have kept going and required incumbents to lease access to any last-mile wiring technology. It should be part of the price for enjoying what amounts to a government-sanctioned monopoly. Even better, just make the last-mile network a regulated utility like water & electric.
Agreed that the FCC should've continued requiring open access. However I'd go further and say that much of the infrastructure should be state owned and leased to private companies.
Or outlaw exclusive franchise agreements, require timely access to utility poles, etc. Regulate like an electric company? Well I'm from California and given how bad our electric companies are and how toothless the state regulator is I'm not sure how much of an improvement that would be.
It was just the copper, not the DSLAM access. What you could do is buy colo space at the CO and install your own DSLAM, and the ILEC was required to cross connect the copper to your cage. What you did from there was your business, as was all of the CPE.
I worked at a CLEC for 10 years during the good times. Even set up a few of our colos myself back in the day. I still think we (the US government) should have kept going and required incumbents to lease access to any last-mile wiring technology. It should be part of the price for enjoying what amounts to a government-sanctioned monopoly. Even better, just make the last-mile network a regulated utility like water & electric.