According to Alexis de Tocqueville Institution Value of U.S. Local Loop Infrastructure Exceeds $2 Trillion.Business Editors WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2002 A new Study by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution The Alexis de Tocqueville Institution (not "institute;" abbreviated AdTI) is a Washington, D.C.-based right-wing think-tank that produces reports and policy research. It is named after the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville. , a public policy institution in Washington, D.C. estimates that the total value of the infrastructure used for making local phone calls in the U.S. is worth over $2 trillion dollars. The soon to be released report, entitled, "Why copper is King in America" analyzes the local loop infrastructure and dependent applications such as Internet and wireless communications. The think thank used a "time and materials labor and materials (time and materials) n. what some builders or repair people contract to provide and be paid for, rather than a fixed price or a percentage of the costs. " cost model to estimate the value of the local loop infrastructure. Kenneth Brown, president of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution comments, "the report has several implications, but conclusively repudiates claims that a nationwide facilities-based network could be easily duplicated by companies..." Brown continues, "Without an unprecedented commitment by capital markets to finance a multi-trillion dollar construction effort, we will not see new loops competing with incumbent local loops." Daniel Berninger, a telecommunications consultant in Washington, D.C. commented, "the report's fact-finding argues very strongly for revisiting the "essential facility" anti-trust question. Berninger states, Verizon (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : VZ), SBC (1) (SBC Communications Inc., San Antonio, TX, www.sbc.com) A large, national telecommunications company that grew from a multitude of local and regional companies, including Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, into a single, unified brand by 2002. (NYSE: SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE: BLS See Bureau of Labor Statistics. ) the largest owners of the loops, argue that the solution to the network sharing problem is that their rivals build competing networks...but even if you could tackle the physical cost of duplicating local loops in a few of the largest markets in the U.S., right-of-way issues, permits and real-related costs would easily spiral the $2 trillion figure significantly higher." Brown added, "the cable network, owned by companies such as ATT ATT ammonia tolerance test. (NYSE: T) and AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. Time Warner (NYSE: AOL), is the only infrastructure that competes with the "copper" network in terms of penetration to homes and offices. But cable has serious voice-to-voice limitations and the demand for voice solidifies copper's lead as the dominant communications infrastructure in the U.S." "The cost-prohibitive nature of rebuilding the network is at the root to a litany of problems, particularly, how owners of the loops share the network with competitors," says Brown. www.adti.net Contact: Gregory Fossedal, foss@adti.net 202-548-0006 |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion