Here's the post .. note the time of
release .. @ 3:00 EST ..
Anybody know when Dow Jones ran the story ??
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Oregon ruling may fuel open
access fight
By Corey Grice
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
June 4, 1999, 12:00 p.m. PT
In a decision that may give new life to the fight for open
access, a federal judge today ruled in favor of Oregon
officials who want AT&T to open its high-speed cable
networks to competing Internet access providers.
U.S. District Court Judge Owen Panner granted the motion for
summary judgment sought by city and county officials in
Portland and surrounding Multnomah County, effectively putting
an end to the court case.
The lawsuit was brought by AT&T and the former TCI in
January after Portland officials required the firms to allow
competitors to use their cable networks to offer Internet
service. AT&T argued that city officials did not have the
authority to force such a provision, following the firms'
multibillion-dollar merger that transferred TCI's cable franchise
to AT&T.
At issue is whether AT&T, already the nation's largest long
distance company and soon to
be the biggest cable operator,
should be forced to open its
networks to ISP competitors to
offer their own broadband
services. Critics have said AT&T
could effectively hold a
monopoly on broadband Net
access with its proprietary cable
modem service Excite@Home.
Ma Bell has said that allowing
competitors to use its cable
networks removes the incentive
to invest in costly upgrades
required to offer high-speed Net
access.
Although the case addressed
whether the city had the
authority to impose the open
access requirements on AT&T,
Panner also wrote in his
decision that AT&T and the former TCI "have no contractual
right under the franchise agreements to exclude competitors
from the cable modem platform."
Panner did not specifically address the merits of open access
as a policy, however.
"The issue is whether the city and county have the power to
require access to the cable modem platform as a condition of
approving AT&T's takeover of the cable franchises. To resolve
the legal issue, I don't need to consider whether the open
access requirement is good policy," he wrote. "I conclude that
the open access requirement is within the authority of the city
and county to protect competition."
AT&T representatives could not immediately be reached for
comment.
"AT&T sued the people of Portland for requiring a level playing
field. The judge's ruling sends the message that thousands of
communities have that jurisdiction and that they can make
their own decisions in favor of a competitive Internet future,"
said Sydney Rubin, a spokesman for the OpenNet Coalition.
The coalition is an ISP lobbying group that includes America
Online and MindSpring Enterprises, among others.
The decision is likely to spark a slew of open access requests
from other cities and local jurisdictions across the country.
The city of Los Angeles is currently studying the issue, while
San Francisco officials are seeking what they have called a
"Portland clause" that would entitle ISPs in San Francisco to
equal cable access if any other local municipality is granted
open access.
A commission of the San Francisco County Board of
Supervisors is weighing its options with regard to the
AT&T-TCI merger and negotiations are ongoing between
city officials and the companies, sources say.
Earlier this year the Federal Communications
Commission declined to rule on the controversial issue,
stating that its was premature to decide whether cable
companies are exerting too much control over the
high-speed Net access market.
But the issue has continued to gain steam in
Washington. Two proposals are circulating in Congress
that would give unaffiliated ISPs the right to access
cable companies' infrastructure.
Earlier this week, the FCC's State and Local
Government Advisory Committee, which represents
state and municipal government interests,
recommended that the commission reopen the cable
access issue. Regulators aren't required to act on this
recommendation, but it does add new weight to
arguments from OpenNet and others.
News.com's John Borland contributed to this report.
EOM------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim in CT .. |
