Presented by New Networks Institute   To Read The Broadband Bill of Rights To Read Articles About the Problems Free Reading Room on Telecom & Broadband Issues   The Bell Companies Are Stealing Our Digital Future And We Need Your Help To Stop Them! Click here to be a co-signer of The Broadband Bill of Rights Have you or has your business been unfairly harmed in the process of getting DSL? The anecdotal evidence is overwhelming - broadband delivery has lagged well behind the tremendous demand. The Telecom Act was signed on February 8th, 1996 -- yet 5 years later getting a high-speed Internet connection can still be a painfully slow process. The physical phone networks have not been sufficiently opened up as mandated by the '96 Telecom Act, often making DSL installation such a tortuous process that nearly half of all DSL orders fail. So, whose infrastructure is it anyway? There is general agreement that the local phone monopolies, such as Verizon, US West, SBC Communications or BellSouth, (the original Baby Bells) that control the infrastructure, has been less than cooperative in providing competitive DSL providers (Covad, Northpoint, Rhythms and others) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) timely, accurate, and complete access to these facilities. Despite Federal fines and private litigation by DSL providers, Verizon/Bell Atlantic has frequently missed install appointments, erroneously disqualified locations and inadvertently disabled working circuits. The overall competitive environment for DSL has been severely wounded in the process, and the choices available to businesses and consumers have narrowed. This has had a serious negative impact to America's economic growth. From the collective damage done to those businesses that need broadband Internet connectivity in order to compete, to the entire health of America's competitive technological development, solutions need to be implemented immediately. Join consumer advocates, DSL experts, competitive DSL companies, public officials, and other concerned DSL customers to create a framework to ensure our digital future is not delayed, denied or degraded.