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To: Smart Investor who wrote (15633)	5/7/1999 12:28:00 PM
From: Joe S Pack	Respond to of 41369

SmartInv: That's what we want to hear. As I said earlier it ain't over till all these gentle ladies ( FCC, DOJ and politicians ) say so. Did you notice the phrase "complex transaction"? Sure DOJ has a role and since MSFT is involved in this, DOJ may want to have a better look at it. -Nat

To: Smart Investor who wrote (15633)	5/7/1999 1:03:00 PM
From: JayPC	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

The government will not pass any laws regarding open cable internet access. This bill is being introduced by 2 VA politicians, strangely enough, home of AOL... Nobody on this thread seems to realize the technical difficulties in open cable. The are so great that it would make the system almost impossible to manage. For the most part the government has let the internet grow without regulation, this has helped the explosive growth in technology and services. It has also helped AOL. They will not start regulation now, especially when they realize the technical issues involved. Check out the @HOME thread for some very good technical posts.. here is a sample or two from Frank A. Coluccio, one of the best posters on SI IMO Message 9379821 "I've gone to great lengths to describe just how ridiculous the idea of sharing the current limited HFC spectrum would be... not only for multiple tenancies by interlopers and other opportunistic ISPs alike, who haven't laid down a single dime on infrastructure risks, but for ATHM's future needs, as well. Perhaps when the channel plans are modified due to the introduction of digital, additional allocations will be made available for data. But we're talking long time frames here, for what will inevitably amount to only a band aid fix. "Open Access?... There may be a way, but I can't find it." One plausible way for AOL to gain access in a viable manner would be to buy out CBS and take over their frequency allocations on cable systems. But this would be so disruptive and take so long to achieve from an architectural perspective (time needed to amend HFC, or other fiber-based, system specifications and for modifications to the set top box, etc.) that it wouldn't be a very viable alternative in the end, either. Can AOL afford to wait out such a lengthy metamorphosis of existing cable infrastructures?" Another Message 9378978 regards Jay