Verizon May Lease Fiber to Internet Providers
From Dow Jones/Associated Press
Verizon Communications Inc. said it was in talks to give Internet service providers access to the optical-fiber network it is building to replace copper phone lines.
Verizon is talking with several ISPs to develop a wholesale relationship similar to its digital subscriber line offering.
To offer broadband Internet service, ISPs lease access to the copper lines of phone companies such as Verizon or SBC Communications Inc.
One difference in a potential new deal is it isn’t federally mandated. Phone companies are required to lease out their copper lines to anyone looking to offer Internet service. Those rules don’t apply to fiber-optic lines.
