does anyone know when the tradethrough rule modifications will take place, or where to find information on this? such a big development, but almost impossible it seems to find clear info on it.
to answer my own question: some more digging brought this up http://www.mises.org/story/2208 > ttr delayed!
The SEC's rule release, describing its newly imposed changes to the Regulation NMS phase-in schedule, is at http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/2006/34-53829.pdf. The SEC's website, at www.sec.gov, contains a great deal of additional information about Regulation NMS. Regulation NMS replaces the old trade-through rule, approved by the SEC in the 1970s, and currently enforced by the exchanges as part of their Intermarket Trading System plan. The old ITS trade-through rule, because of technological changes occurring after the rule was implemented, gave the NYSE and AMEX extremely unfair advantages against competing market centers. NYSE and AMEX have long misused this unfair advantage as a means to operate a government-protected monopoly, imposing excessive costs upon almost all securities transactions, while interfering with efforts to execute transactions at competing market centers. Regulation NMS will effectively reduce this unfair government interference with competing market centers. NYSE and AMEX originally fought the proposal tooth and nail, because it would threaten or terminate their ride on the gravy train of money taken from the public. The compliance dates for the most important provisions of Regulation NMS have just been postponed by the SEC, but the rule is already forcing enormous changes in the way exchanges operate, so that the public will no longer be subject to the traditional thievery affecting most securities trades. These massive changes include massive technological changes, which require more time than originally anticipated, and that is why the SEC has extended the Regulation NMS compliance dates.