Good news from the western front on open access:
denverpost.com
Oct. 9 - The campaign that had sought to quash AT&T's quest for a lucrative cable deal in Denver fizzled Friday after US West, its only financial contributor, backed out of the effort.
US West spokeswoman Anna Osborn refused to explain her company's reasons for the withdrawal, saying only, "We've taken a look at the issue and decided not to move forward.''
yadda, yadda, yadda
"For months, campaign spokesman Jim Carpenter had claimed that other companies had joined the coalition, but was ambiguous about which ones. It turns out the campaign included only a few private citizens and RMI.Net, a Denver-based Internet service provider pressing for AT&T to open its cable wires to competing Internet service providers."
yadda...
"The movement for "open access'' argued that AT&T's virtual lock on cable service in Denver shouldn't mean a monopoly on high-speed Internet service through cables as well. The open-access cause has been championed nationwide by the so-called Opennet Coalition, a group of about 750 companies that has lobbied Congress, state legislatures and even local governments, pushing for room on cable lines.
But the coalition and its wellheeled members didn't join the fight in Denver, leaving U S West virtually alone in objecting to AT&T's proposed cable deal here. The $52,678 in its coffers paled compared to the $186,306 AT&T has reported raising so far - a stockpile that has bought a barrage of TV and print ads, plus catered neighborhoods meetings throughout the city." |
