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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scrapps who wrote (19138)	7/14/1999 2:48:00 PM
From: Moonray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

Bandwidth Wars: Florida County votes to open cable lines to ISPs Reuters - Posted at 9:27 a.m. PDT Wednesday, July 14, 1999 NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Florida county government has voted to require cable-TV companies to open their lines to rival Internet-service providers. The decision Tuesday marked another set back in AT&T's plan to offer fast cable access to the net. Broward County/Fort Lauderdale, Fla. commissioners voted 4 to 3 in favor of an ordinance that calls for cable television franchises to provide rival web companies ''such access on rates, terms and conditions at least as favorable as those on which it provides such access to itself.'' Last Spring, Portland, Ore. became the first city to require AT&T, the number one U.S. long distance phone company and number two cable operator, to open access to competing Internet service providers. The telephone company appealed the decision. An AT&T official called Tuesday's decision wrong and bad for public policy. ''It will have the unfortunate effect of discouraging investment in technology that would bring a choice of local telephone providers and high speed Internet access services to the citizens of Broward County,'' Ken McNeely, AT&T vice president of law and government affairs, said in a statement. As part of its recent acquisition of Tele-Communications Inc and MediaOne -- two of the four largest cable companies in the nation -- AT&T must ask local officials to transfer the local cable franchises. In the process, cities and countries can require AT&T to open its network to competitors. Other cities currently considering the issue include Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco. o~~~ O