Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : AUTOHOME, Inc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rascal who wrote (17024)	11/14/1999 10:01:00 PM
From: Solid	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Rascal, I couldn't make out your last line, had my shades on again. But I hope the FCC folks were eating a hot dog as they read your post. And had the sports page in their hands too. <g> Where do you hide a thing like T? I'm sure they have to test the thickness of the ice to see how much of their weight it will support. They have remarkable plans to shape the future. It will probably require a look at current legislation, working for maximum latitude interpretation and possibly a push for new legislation. As just happened with banking. Out of my expertise here though.

To: Rascal who wrote (17024)	11/14/1999 10:45:00 PM
From: GraceZ	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Some at that thread were SHOCKED that I held the opinion that AT&T wanted into the programming piece of the business. Rascal, perhaps you missed this in the Multichannel article about T and the FCC, it refers to limitations in cable ownership and control over programing. multichannel.com The FCC's letter went out one week after the agency notified AT&T that the company was required to demonstrate that its acquisition of MediaOne would not violate recently adopted cable-ownership limits. Under the new rules, a cable operator can't have an ownership stake in systems that serve more than 24 million subscribers. After acquiring MediaOne, AT&T would own about 29 million subscribers. A cable operator can insulate a limited partnership from the ownership rules by demonstrating that it is not "materially involved" in the partnership's programming activities. A cable-industry lawyer said AT&T will likely claim that it complies with the ownership rules because it does not make programming decisions for TWE,even though AT&T owns Liberty and TWE systems carry programming networks controlled or partly owned by Liberty. The lawyer added that it was unlikely that the FCC would agree with AT&T's analysis, and agency sources have said that AT&T has a high hurdle to clear to demonstrate that TWE is insulated. The FCC is insisting that AT&T demonstrate compliance with the rules after buying MediaOne, even though it is not enforcing the ownership cap and it may never get the opportunity to enforce the cap if the courts continue to block enforcement. On the merger itself, the FCC asked AT&T to respond to 27 questions, some of them closely related to controversies that AT&T fell into as a result of buying Tele-Communications Inc. in March. For example, the agency asked to see a copy of Excite@Home's 11-month-old agreement with video-streamer RealNetworks Inc. -- a possible indication of concern that AT&T has designs on controlling video streaming over the Internet. In a related question possibly geared toward fears that Excite@Home would discriminate against unaffiliated Internet-content providers, the FCC asked AT&T to explain how Excite@Home "would use caching, blocking, or filtering technologies to prioritize or block delivery of Internet content [for example, caching of content provided by preferred vendors]." The commission also asked about tax implications associated with a possible spinoff of Liberty, and it asked AT&T to provide copies of agreements with content and service providers for advanced digital set-top boxes. AT&T spokesman Jim McGann said the company has a meeting arranged with FCC officials to discuss the ownership-rules-compliance issue. He added that he needed to consult with AT&T officials regarding the company's response to the FCC's request for merger-specific information.