AT&T told to open cable access lines AOL shares soar, ExciteAtHome stock plunges on ruling
By Jeffry Bartash & Bambi Francisco, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 8:57 PM ET Jun 4, 1999
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What price access?
Left unanswered in the judge's ruling is another, perhaps more critical, issue: How much should AT&T be allowed to charge for access to its cable lines. AT&T could charge such a high amount, for example, that it would still be cheaper for consumers to purchase its AtHome cable Internet service than that of a rival provider like AOL.
If that happens, ISPs would likely have to go back to court in pursuit of limits on how much AT&T could charge.
For AT&T, the ruling is much less a blow than it is for AtHome. Even if it eventually loses the appeal -- a process that could take up to a year or more -- Ma Bell still stands to profit handsomely. The ISPs will have to pay up no matter what.
"Nobody is asking AT&T to give away their access. Let AT&T make a fortune charging access. The customers will win. The competitors will win. And AT&T will win," said Jeffrey Kagan, an independent telecom analyst based in Atlanta. "The only negative ... from AT&T's perspective (is) that they have to let competitors use their facilities."
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