On Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:52:31 -0800 (PST), Owain
wrote:

On 10 Nov, 10:02, Bruce wrote:
Why should it be free, or subsidised? *That would only mean that
existing BT subscribers would be paying for it. *
I'm sorry, but I don't see why I should pay for someone else's new
phone line.

The principle that costs should be averaged over all subscribers dates
back to the fairly early days of the public network, on the grounds
that every new addition to the network benefited those already on it.


Nonsense. No such "principle" has ever existed.

A new line has always had to be paid for.