Florida county votes to open cable lines
By Reuters - July 14, 1999 4:58 AM
NEW YORK -- A Florida county government on Tuesday voted to require cable-TV
companies to open their lines to rival Internet service providers.
The decision marks another set back in AT&T'S plan to offer fast cable
access to the Net.
Broward County/Fort Lauderdale, Fla., commissioners voted 4 to 3 in favor of an
ordinance that calls for cable television franchises to provide rival Web companies
"such access on rates, terms and conditions at least as favorable as those on which
it provides such access to itself."
Back off AT&T
Last Spring, Portland, Ore. became the first city to require AT&T, the No. 1
U.S. long-distance phone company and No. 2 cable operator, to open access to competing
Internet service providers. The telephone company appealed the decision.
An AT&T official called Tuesday's decision wrong and bad for public policy.
"It will have the unfortunate effect of discouraging investment in
technology that would bring a choice of local telephone providers and high-speed Internet
access services to the citizens of Broward County," Ken McNeely, AT&T vice
president of law and government affairs, said in a statement.
As part of its recent acquisition of Tele-Communications Inc. and MediaOne --
two of the four largest cable companies in the nation -- AT&T must ask local officials
to transfer the local cable franchises. In the process, cities and counties can require
AT&T to open its network to competitors.
Other cities currently considering the issue include Los Angeles, Miami and San
Francisco.
Shares of AT&T closed down at 57-1/16 on the New York Stock Exchange.
