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To: Jbenz0 who wrote (20185)	6/4/1999 3:51:00 PM
From: Teri Stephenson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41369

DJ Judge Rules AT&T Must Open Cable To Portland Competitors: By Mark Wigfield WASHINGTON -- AT&T Corp. (T) has no right to exclude competing Internet Service Providers from its cable systems, a federal judge in Oregon has ruled in a case that could help shape the rules for competition in the lucrative market for high-speed Internet service. In a blow to the telecommunications giant, Judge Owen Panner upheld the right of the cable regulators in Portland and the surrounding Multnomah County to condition their approval of the merger between AT&T and the former Tele-Communications Inc. on an open access requirement. "The mandatory access condition does not substantially impair the plaintiff's contractual rights under the franchise agreements," the judge wrote. AT&T had successfully fought off efforts to impose such conditions on a national level during review of its merger by the Federal Communications Commission. "This probably signals a turning of the tide in this debate," said Scott Cleland, a telecommunications analyst with the Legg Mason Precursor Group. "It's a very significant legal decision. Now, the FCC has to decide if it wants to have open access imposed city by city, set national rules, or rescue AT&T from the cities." Cleland said federal pre-emption, however, would be unlikely. A number of other cities also want open cable access, including Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Washington, D.C., and Miami. However, the judge's decision is likely to be appealed. Siding with the city of Portland were GTE Internetworking Inc., a unit of GTE Corp. (GTE); U.S. West Enterprise America; OGC Telecom Ltd.; and the Oregon Internet Service Provider Association."