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May 5, 1999

TechView:
DSL Stands For Driveway Site Liaison

ecently, I wrote here of my digital subscriber line installation travails ("Will DSL Work Better Than ISDN?," April 26). Well, folks, the adventure continues. While DSL technology is starting to become more widely available, the relationships required to effectively deploy it to consumers and businesses are still new territory for the companies that provide the service. And the wild frontier of telco relationships is my driveway.

The other day, Bell Atlantic, my incumbent local exchange carrier, and Covad, my network provider, had an on-site meeting in my driveway to discuss the ongoing problem with my DSL loop installation. The debate boils down to a single issue: Basically, Bell Atlantic says the wire's fine, but Covad says (and I concur) that since it doesn't work, it obviously isn't fine.

Bell Atlantic's position is based on both lack of experience and lack of a reason to care. The techs who've shown up to talk to me just glaze over when I start to talk DSL. They're voice-line guys, and as long as the line has a dial tone, the rest isn't their problem.

Their ability to care is also affected by the fact that the copper they install is for a connection to a competitive local exchange carrier and a competitive network service provider--both of whom are taking a giant bite out of their cash-cow T1 and ISDN revenue.

So Bell Atlantic has little motivation to make my DSL installation work any time soon (other than the financial penalties it's incurring because it has missed a deadline) because Covad, the competitive local exchange carrier, and the Internet service provider are the ones profiting from the resulting service.

The local telco is the weak link in the DSL story for many DSL providers. While Covad and the competitive local exchange carrier may own the wire and the network up to 9,000 feet away from me, it's Bell Atlantic that owns the poles that take the wire that last stretch. And just because local telcos are required by the government to allow competitors access to their wires and collocation of systems at their central offices doesn't mean they have to make it easy for them to capture new business.

Ah, the joys of digital convergence and deregulation. All this makes a pretty strong argument for deals like AT&T's proposed acquisition of MediaOne--a company that, based on some recent reader feedback, apparently is doing the cable-modem thing right. The fewer providers you need to deal with, the less potential for finger-pointing.

Of course, that means that in many cases, cable modems are probably the way to go for those who can get them--unless, of course, you want Larry, Moe, and Curly in your driveway.