Monday, September 12, 2005
McDonalds sues city for making burgers?
Almost that bizarre, but not exactly.
Qwest -- the former disruptive fiber player that wisely bought an ILEC so it'd be too big to shut down -- is suing the City of Portland for running a municipal network. The Oregonian reports
Qwest seeks to set a dangerous precedent. The article says
Qwest -- the former disruptive fiber player that wisely bought an ILEC so it'd be too big to shut down -- is suing the City of Portland for running a municipal network. The Oregonian reports
Portland's $14 million system links several city offices, and a few government agencies outside the city, to a network of fiber-optic cable that carries city phone calls and Internet traffic . . . The Integrated Regional Network Enterprise [IRNE] . . . provides super-fast Internet connections the city couldn't otherwise afford.snip
Qwest's latest suit, filed late last week in U.S. District Court, calls IRNE an illegal, government-sponsored competitor. Qwest complains that the city is abusing its regulatory authority by forcing telecom companies to connect IRNE to their networks in exchange for permission to use city-owned rights of way for the companies' private networks.I think I've got it. Qwest is saying, "What's our traffic, generated by your city government, doing on your city network?" Clearly the city network is interfering with Qwest's Freedom to Connect to its (putatively wholly owned) customers.
"It provides, basically, unfair competition and makes it very, very difficult for the private sector to compete," said Judy Peppler, Qwest's Oregon president.
Portland grants IRNE access to the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Port of Portland, Metro and other government agencies, which Peppler said robs telecom companies of large, lucrative customers.
Qwest seeks to set a dangerous precedent. The article says
Qwest['s suit] asks the court to stop Portland from forcing telecom companies to connect to IRNE.If the interconnection requirement of the Telecom Act is weakened or overturned, the sound of one hand clapping will echo throughout the land.
Technorati Tags: ILEC, MunicipalNetworks, NetworkNeutrality, Qwest, Telcos
Comments:
If the interconnection requirement of the Telecom Act is weakened or overturned, the sound of one hand clapping will echo throughout the land.
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