We share this letter dated 8/28/18, from our friends at Omsoft Technologies:
Greetings,
Just like everything else, the current deregulatory craze at the expense of common sense is about to hit the Internet Access Industry, and WE NEED YOU to take 5-10 minutes and write a letter at the website www.savecompetition.com Please share liberally, as this is not being reported on in a major way.
DEADLINE 9/4/2018
Here is the crisis.:
The US TELECOM ASSN, the trade group for the Mega Giant telecoms like Verizon, ATT and Centurylink have petitioned the FCC for forbearance from the COPPER line sharing requirements of the landmark 1996 Telecommunications Act. They state that there is robust competition in local Internet Access markets and great cheap fast Internet Access throughout the US. They request to end all regulated wholesale access to the Unbundled Network Elements (Copper Pairs) of the Telephone Network your grandparents, parents and you paid for through your taxes.
California companies like Omsoft, SonicNet, CruzIO, LMI, Shasta.com, and Cal.Net, along with the remaining small ISPs across the nation will have their access to their main Internet Transport medium, the Public Switched Telephone System, (PSTN) completely shut off in 2 years.
All the investment, revenue growth, and job creation, the hundreds of millions of dollars of economic activity generated by these remaining 3500 or so local and regional ISPs over the last 20 years is on the line here. Large or Small, we all rely on access to this network to provide ever better bandwidth products, and many leverage this revenue to build much needed Fiber Optic to the Home infrastructure that other large providers will not do, and the rest of the world HAS DONE.
You will be forced to work with only those companies that continually raise prices, sell your CPNI, scan and record your browsing data, and sell your history to advertisers. Your only choice for the wire line Internet of the future will be two investor driven companies devoted to extracting as much profit from your INTERNET that they are able. The last check they had on competitive pricing, and best practices, the local ISP, will be wiped out.
Combined with the end of Net Neutrality legislation, this severely restricts a free, open and decentralized Internet in the United States.
Please take 5-10 minutes to let the FCC know you support More Competition in the Internet Access market, not Less. Newer technologies, and privacy protections are important to you to, and those are delivered by local community network type Internet Access operations.
Here is the link to write a letter: www.savecompetition.com
Here is a good article: https://goo.gl/8FiFgD
Here is an organization to support: www.incompas.org
Thanks for your time defending progress and local business,
Omsoft Staff