From the article: "Technology is helping communication companies merge
telephone, television and Internet services, but a push to deregulate may leave
some customers on the wrong side of the digital divide during this convergence,
according to a Penn State telecommunications researcher…. Telephone companies
are lobbying for government regulators to free them of their traditional role
as a public utility, citing the convergence and availability of new communication
technologies, such as cellular phones and fiber optic cable, that make
copper-based telephone land lines obsolete, according to Frieden. However, not
all these alternatives are as affordable and as ubiquitous as copper landlines,
a problem that could leave many rural residents underserved, he said." Read more
See also
The End of the Phone System, an event sponsored by Wharton - University of Pennsylvania,
Penn State, Fordham University and Mack Center for Technological Innovation, May 16, 2012.
