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Technology Stocks : AT&T -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (2679)	7/21/1999 12:26:00 AM
From: alias	Respond to of 4298

Absolutely.

To: American Spirit who wrote (2679)	7/21/1999 2:12:00 AM
From: alias	Respond to of 4298

From this morning (7/21) WSJ uly 21, 1999 FCC Will Intervene in Battle Over Broadband-Cable Access By KATHY CHEN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WASHINGTON --The Federal Communications Commission's chairman, William Kennard, said the FCC will intervene in a court case over whether local regulators can require cable-television companies to open their new high-speed wires to rival Internet service providers. Mr. Kennard told a meeting of the Federal Communications Bar Association in San Francisco Tuesday that he decided to file a brief in the case because he wants to ensure a national no-regulation policy for the Internet, rather than let local governments impose rules. He added that his statement will "explain to the court why it's important that we have a national policy." Last month, a federal court in Oregon ruled that the city of Portland has the authority to require AT&T Corp. to provide open access of its cable lines to competitors. AT&T has appealed the ruling, which is now before the federal appeals court in San Francisco. Mr. Kennard plans to file a friend-of-the-court brief, in hopes it will serve as a guide for the appeals court's decision. Mr. Kennard's announcement came as local officials asserted their jurisdiction over the open-access issue. The National Association of Counties, which represents two-thirds of the nation's counties, approved a resolution during its annual meeting in St. Louis that local governments can require cable companies to provide open access. The resolution adds that if the FCC or Congress works toward a national policy, they must "continue to give local governments the opportunity to opt to require open access," said Bob Fogel, the group's associate legislative director for transportation and telecommunications. The law isn't totally clear on who has authority over the issue; cable regulations say local and federal regulators share jurisdiction. Mr. Kennard said in his speech that FCC staff will meet with the agency's local and state government advisory committee this week to hear local officials' concerns and explain his stance. While the counties' resolution doesn't take a stand on whether local governments should require access, it could spell trouble for AT&T. The communications giant has committed some $140 billion to buying cable companies, including Tele-Communications Inc. and MediaOne Group Inc. But it says these investments won't be worthwhile if it must open its cable lines to competitors, and has launched an intense lobbying campaign at the local level. But the resolution underscores the growing interest among grass-roots officials and groups over the issue, and could result in more localities' mandating open access. Besides Portland, Broward County, Fla., recently decided to require open access, while San Francisco officials are scheduled to vote on the issue Monday. Meanwhile, hundreds of other cities will be deciding whether to approve AT&T's purchase of MediaOne, and might try to attach open-access conditions.