To: John Stichnoth who wrote (7280 ) 6/11/2000 2:41:00 AM From: Frank A. Coluccio Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 12823
John, that's an interesting analysis. I understand your reasoning, but I don't know if I necessarily agree with it. We have several things happening now which tend to offset the usual arguments about "monopoly" status today in the specific space that we're concerned with. And that space is Internet Access. The coming abundance of all types of players in a given serving area, where previously there may have only been one or two (an ILEC and a cable operator) claiming the undergrounds and the poles, makes it difficult to rationalize who should be deemed the dominant player, or if in fact one even should. That disctinction, in the end, will come to depend largely on consumer choice, not squatter's rights or PUC edict. Neither of the two former kings of their space (ILECs and MSOs) can be cited purely on the basis of who they are, any longer, as being the sole or best or most successful provider for any given type of service in a given locale, and most notably for Internet access, over time. Especially as it relates to 'Net access. Not to mention that each of these former monopoly players aspires to offer the other's legacy services in addition to those of their own. The coming multitude of existing and still nascent players within both the same and different mediums who both currently and in the future will co-exist within the same serving area makes this a daunting situation to analyze and administer, if we use the old rules which governed monopolies as a guideline. To wit, cases where there are two or more competing cable operators (including some wireless and satellite ones), multiple wireless Internet access operators, and indeed, multiple LECs, both incumbent and competitive, in-region and out-of-region. Assuming that the foregoing facts hold true, would you have the open access rules apply to the longest standing incumbents in each media group (the so called "dominant ones," only? Or, should the evolving rules of open access apply to all purveyors in this space, new and old, regardless of medium that they support, alike? FAC