States Can’t Force Bells to Offer Separate DSL
From Reuters
BellSouth Corp. and the other big local U.S. telephone carriers won a decision barring states from requiring them to offer stand-alone high-speed Internet service to customers who buy voice service from a competitor.
The Federal Communications Commission, by a vote of 3 to 2, approved BellSouth’s request to preempt states from imposing such a requirement, stating that it violated federal communications laws and regulations.
Atlanta-based BellSouth said state regulators in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana had forced the company to offer stand-alone digital subscriber line, or DSL, service.
