Icarus, whatever the powers that be say, the plan since they gave Flight Service the flick, was to have controllers provide DTI as a way of keeping the airlines happy (who pleaded to keep Flight Service going), but only until the dust settled and then to remove DTI and have no service outside controlled airspace, and NAS 2b is the first step towards that end state.
What people need to do is not focus just on the shortfalls of this stage of implementation, but even more importantly, look at what the Anderson and Smith and co. are trying to bring in at the end of all this.