Why did you initially use SDSL? Why did you not use line sharing from the start?

A chief reason why we used SDSL initially was so that we could provide high-speed connectivity in both directions for each subscriber. This is important for VPN (virtual private network) applications and for videoconferencing. SDSL won't work with line sharing, but requires dedicated pairs or "unbundled distribution subloops".

Line sharing involves using the same line for voice and for data. If the voice connection stops working, there would be no choice but to suspect that the DSL system (that is, the Coop) were somehow to blame. We wanted to minimize the risk of finger-pointing from Qwest if a voice line stops working. So we started by renting dedicated separate pairs from Qwest for our service. If we had selected a line-sharing application, the only DSL variant we could have used would have been ADSL, and we wanted to provide SDSL.

Line sharing requires installation of a "splitter" at the DSLAM. Splitters take up space and we had limited space available for our DSLAM. They also cost money and we were trying to save money.

Still another problem was that at the time we began negotiations with Qwest in May of 2001, there was no product in the Qwest product catalog that would permit us to do line sharing with the DSLAM at a Field Connection Point. Back then the only available Qwest line-sharing product required that the DSLAM be in the central office and required that there be continuous copper from the central office to the end user. And in our case there is a loop carrier box that makes it impossible to provide DSL in our neighborhood by means of a DSLAM in the central office. The "shared distribution subloop" product was offered by Qwest for the first time only in January of 2002. And as of January 2002, the price for dedicated pairs was a mere $8.73, which was not much higher than the price for the shared pairs at $3.50.

But shortly after our contract was signed in March 2002, Qwest sprang a three-fold price increase on us, increasing the price for dedicated subloops from $8.73 per month to $24.13 per month. So we were forced to switch to line sharing. You can read more about "the $24 problem".