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To: Richard who wrote (6778)	3/25/1999 12:37:00 PM
From: ahhaha	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Part of T's agreement with TWX was to build a firewall between telephony and broadband. They are distinct and separate markets though they come in on the same wire, last mile notwithstanding. This is part of the effective interpretation of the '96 Act upon which the FCC allowed the T-TCI merger. It can be seen as one of the negatives of that merger. The merged entity drives away a component disbeneficiary which was assumed to remain in place. I believe the FCC will approve the Comcast-UMG merger because to not do so nullifies or is consistent with the above ruling. Similarly, along a different twist I believe the FCC will consider an ATHM-RR merger excessively aggregating and contrary to the objective of competitive market. When the FCC allowed T-TCI they were saying that broadband is a separate and distinct market not to be mixed with other forms of pseudo-broadband delivery like DSL. Otherwise, they would have had to make some concessions to AOL's argument. But in so deciding they almost created a mandate to provide this nascent broadband market with sufficient competitors. By the Bork Rule that would be a minimum of three. Therefore one might conclude that COX will jump and form the third entity. In order to do so they would have to develop a relation with a large entity which needs broadband exposure. SBC is exactly what I have in mind. They have to get rid of their exclusive devotion to DSL because they have T's telephony competition to address. They critically need that separate but equal hookup.