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To: ld5030 who wrote (16936)	11/11/1999 11:57:00 PM
From: Solid	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Mr. Case trying to choke the public on his horse feathers. "The choices that we make today will play a significant role in determining the Internet's ultimate success," Case said. I think he means AOL's ultimate survival. chicago.tribune.com Case: Cable industry endangers Net's growth By Rick Hepp Tribune Staff Writer November 10, 1999 Steve Case warned communications industry leaders today that the cable industry's refusal to allow Internet service providers access to its lines for broadband services could limit the widespread growth of the Internet. America Online's chief executive officer said during a luncheon at the Chicago Hilton and Towers that the cable industry's refusal to open its lines could shutter more than 6,000 ISPs nationwide. "Our view is that consumers need choices," he said. "Let consumers decide as opposed to letting the industry decide." "We don't think that's consumer-friendly or sustainable over the long run," Case said. "An open model should be preserved." America Online has been lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to force cable companies to operate under the same laws that govern local phone companies. Those laws require local phone companies to carry data services of everyone. Cable companies oppose any formal requirement to open cable networks to competitors in the same way local phone companies must, but they have indicated they would negotiate with competitors to use their networks without government intervention. "We're still trying to work with the cable companies, and someday we will be able to," Case said. "But right now, we're at an impasse." Case, speaking at Chicago Communications' 25th anniversary luncheon, outlined three challenges that government and high-technology industry leaders face as they approach a critical juncture in the Internet's development. He sees the challenges of protecting privacy, delivering wide access to broadband technologies and bridging the digital divide as the three most critical moves that the public and private sector must make. "The choices that we make today will play a significant role in determining the Internet's ultimate success," Case said. He said Congress must draft legislation that is "responsible and responsive ... it should foster greater individual choice and development." It also should be neutral so that it does not favor one industry to the detriment of another, he said. Case said the line between the public and private sectors should be blurred to take legislation "from one of confrontation (between the sectors) to one of collaboration." The luncheon, held each year by Columbia College, honors the late Chicago journalist and advertising executive Al Weisman with scholarships for arts and communication students.