Kevin Werbach muses on a recent anti-consumer broadband FCC decision that will prolong our slow broadband service….

The FCC reached a decision this week that could effectively end broadband service as we know it. The order hasn’t officially come out yet, but the result was leaked.
The FCC granted a petition by BellSouth to pre-empt state regulators from requiring “naked DSL.” The procedural aspects are convoluted, so the effect of that action may not be clear. Here’s what the FCC is saying. The local phone companies (and, although the ruling doesn’t specifically cover them, cable companies) are free to force customers to buy pay for phone service in order to get broadband. Whether or not you use the phone company’s voice service is immaterial — you have to pay for it. Although there are a few telcos willing to sell DSL as a stand-alone service (notably Qwest), one wonders if they will continue to do so.