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

To: HG who wrote (1904)	2/4/1999 5:34:00 PM
From: stock_bull69	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4298

More good news for T: Special to CNET News.com February 4, 1999, 12:00 p.m. PT WASHINGTON--AT&T won't be forced to let rivals have unfettered access to its high-speed cable TV networks to win approval of its $61 billion purchase of Tele-Communications Incorporated, the top U.S. phone regulator said. Some competitors, such as America Online, the largest Internet service provider, have lobbied the Federal Communications Commission to force the combined AT&T-TCI to open its cable networks to rivals much as local phone companies must. FCC chairman William Kennard's public rejection of this proposal is a win for cable companies who said it would discourage investment in new networks to provide phone and Internet service and a loss for Internet companies seeking access to high-speed connections to keep customers online longer. "At this point, because the Internet is still in its infancy, it's not appropriate today to write such rules," said Kennard, following a speech in Washington. It was the first time Kennard had publicly rejected the Internet service providers' proposal. The agency staff recommends that the AT&T acquisition of TCI be approved and analysts don't expect the FCC to attach any significant conditions to the transaction. The FCC's decision is a blow for AOL, MindSpring Enterprises, and other companies that want to buy AT&T-TCI's high-speed connections to the Internet without the online content offered by TCI's affiliated online service, @Home. Competitors contend cable TV networks should be subject to access requirements similar to those the largest local phone companies must meet. Broadband networks Last week, the agency released a report to Congress saying that so-called broadband telecommunications networks are being deployed in a reasonable and timely manner. Those networks, being built by phone and cable-TV companies, are capable of transmitting phone, data, Internet and cable-TV services at speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional phone lines. The FCC will closely monitor deployment of cable networks to see if the issue of opening them to competitors "needs to be considered on an industry-wide basis," Kennard said. The five-person FCC should vote on approval of the transaction before the companies' shareholders are scheduled to vote on it Feb. 17, FCC officials have said. FCC approval is the last remaining regulatory hurdle for the transaction. The Justice Department approved it in December. The FCC "recognizes that AT&T's attempt to roll out cable telephony is challenging and an open-access condition would only make that challenge more difficult," said Paul Glenchur, an analyst with Charles Schwab's Washington Research Group. AOL, MCI WorldCom, US West, and other companies said yesterday they will work together to try to persuade the FCC and Congress that cable operators should be forced to share their high-speed networks. The OpenNet Coalition's lobbying plan comes as consumers' appetite for faster data services increases. Copyright 1999, Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.