diectv dsl dead?

[mark at buttery.org (Mark J. Dulcey)]

GNU/Linux :-) wrote:
> A co-worker and a friend of mine have  told me that directv dsl is going
> down.  
> 
> http://www.directvdsl.com/
> 
> 
> I just hope this people switch to speakeasy and not one of the big guys
> like verizon.

First: yes, it's true. They won't go dark immediately, though; they're giving customers time to move over to other providers. DirecTV DSL didn't do any customer loops (last-mile services) itself, but got them from other providers (probably the RBOCs and Covad); it's likely that nearly all of the customers will be able to find somebody willing to serve them.

Speakeasy hasn't wasted any time; their home page already has a link labeled "Direct TV switch". (So they can't spell.) I concur that they're a good place to turn, at least if you live in one of the areas they serve (Greater Boston is one). The last-mile providers will, of course, also make a push to become the ISP of the former DirecTV customers.

DirecPC and Direcway satellite internet service are not currently affected, but it is considered likely that Hughes will move to shut them down as well, since they are also losing money. They may feel a bit more pressure to keep those services alive, since many of their customers don't have many other broadband alternatives. Customers could possibly move over to StarBand, but that company probably couldn't absorb all those people at once, and the customers would have to pay a lot of money for new equipment. Also, StarBand's residential service doesn't support any OS other than Windows; if you want to use anything else, you have to buy the more expensive office package.

DirecTV Latin America is also thought to be on the hit list, but that's not likely to affect any BLU members.