Sep 10, 2004 12:00 PM,

A short wait

by Kevin Fitchard

The incumbents' telephony free-for-all might be shorter than they'd hoped for. With the FCC's triennial review providing most of the regulatory relief the RBOCs could have hoped for by squashing UNE-P, and AT&T's announcement that it will exit the consumer market effectively marking the beginning of the end for CLECs looking for a residential play, it seemed the RBOCs could sit back with relative ease and prepare their bundles and services in advance of that annoying VoIP revolution somewhere off the horizon.

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Well, that VoIP revolution might be a lot closer than the RBOCs thought. Charter Communications last week announced transport and termination deals that will take its rinky-dink VoIP service nationwide (see story in Top News). Add to that Cox Communications' announcement that it will make packet telephony service available to 50% of its subscribers by the end of the year. With the rest of the big six MSOs (with the exception of reeling Adelphia) not that far behind, the RBOCs' reprieve from competition looks to be short lasting.

In fact, with AT&T still aggressively pushing its CallVantage service through the end of the year, one wonders if the RBOCs will get any reprieve at all. It looks like competition as usual.

Editor's Note: Not that I expect any displays of mass weeping, but this will be my last Bully entry for Telephony's Broadband Barrage. Starting Tuesday of next week, I'll be taking over the stewardship of Telephony's Wireless and Wi-Fi Weekly, as well as taking over the wireless beat for the magazine's print edition. But I am leaving you in the capable hands of Dan O'Shea, Telephony's former Chief Correspondent and newly deputized News Editor. Dan's a good man. He has more than 10 years of experience covering the industry and a very shiny head. I'm most positive that he will provide you with plenty of fodder for thought, as well as trigger plenty of the impromptu e-mail debates readers seem so fond of. Play nice, though. And keep the bald jokes to a minimum.

Contact me at kfitchard@primediabusiness.com.