The blame bandwagon

(Telephony) Service providers seem to follow each other’s moves like a herd of sheep. After Covad Communications said earlier this week that it was creating a new “Safety Net” program to help rescue customers stricken with failing ISPs, NorthPoint Communications is now following a similar plan.

NorthPoint recently completed its acquisition of the now bankrupt ISP, Flashcom, and now the company is trying to resurrect. NorthPoint plans to migrate Flashcom customers over to Telocity. NorthPoint is also in negotiating with other providers to establish agreements for the transition of the Flashcom lines.

Flashcom’s bankruptcy filing will apparently not affect NorthPoint’s purchase of Flashcom lines. “NorthPoint is exploring every available option to provide continued service to end users affected by other troubled Internet service providers, including transferring lines to Telocity or other viable providers,” according to a released statement.

But while the data CLECs are pointing a lot of their own financial woes on ISPs, some disagree with that logic.

“If service is substandard and you have poor pricing, no one would be able to survive without other people’s money to support them,” said Russ Intravartolo, CEO of ISP wholesaler, StarNet, referring to the data CLECs. Intravartolo also noted that the DSL resale model is simply not profitable.