Customer Ownership of the Local Loop: Its Effects on Competition

[Here is an excellent web site on the regulatory and competitive aspects on the advantages of the customer owning the last mile. Although the arguments are couched in terms of telephony service, they equally apply to internet connections as well. Thanks to Alfredo Bregni for this pointer – BSA]

http://pb.freeshell.org/its.html
Full competition in telephony requires the solution of numerous problems, some of which appear truly intractable. This paper deals with three of the most serious difficulties that competition in telephony must overcome: interconnection among local exchange service providers, interconnection between local exchange and interexchange service providers, and the transition from monopoly to competition. This paper shows that customer ownership of the local loop provides an elegant, uniform solution to these problems; it causes each of these problems to virtually disappear. The paper also discusses the likelihood that customer ownership of the local loop will create a competitive loop construction industry. This does not directly solve an obvious problem with competition in telephony, but it is clearly desirable, because it permits loop construction to be demand driven rather than supply driven. The paper concludes with an explanation that customer ownership of the local loop does more than solve several individual problems with competition in the provision of telephony. Rather, it constitutes an elegant, integrated solution to many of the problems with competition in telephony.
For more information also see:
http://free-fiber-to-the-home.blogspot.com/

Google policy paper
Home with tails – what if you could own your Internet connection
http://free-fiber-to-the-home.blogspot.com/2008/11/home-with-tails-what-if-you-could-own.html