> My point was that consumers voted out thousands of independents by > taking service from incumbents instead of independents. Thousands have > closed up shop. Where independents are available, it's still tough > getting customers if the incumbents have a service that mostly works > (over say 5 to 10 megs), even if the independent offers service > comparable to the incumbent's advertisements.
In my neck of the woods, most independents only sold layer 3 services. and depended upon others for layer 2 services. The independents had a booming business with those conditions and consumers had an array of choices for ISPs. Then, the layer 2 operators started offering combined layer 2/3 services at a price point below the layer 2 only price needed to get to the independents. Unsurprisingly, the consumers flocked to the cheaper services. I've always felt if a company used a public right of way to reach a consumer, they should be prohibited from being a layer 3 provider. Or, at a minimum, they need to sell layer 2 services to themselves at the same price they charge others. I've known lots of people that would be happy to compete with the big boys under those circumstances.
