Let cable compete in battle for broadband

LET CABLE COMPETE IN THE BATTLE FOR BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Leo Hindery, InterMedia Partners]
[Commentary] In 2004, US president George W. Bush promised the nation “universal broadband deployment by 2007” in a lauded Rose Garden ceremony. With 2008 well under way, it is clear that he will not be able to declare “mission accomplished” any time soon. Not only has the Federal Communications Commission, the agency that oversees communications policy, been woodenly unreflective in advancing any serious national broadband policy, it is now pursuing an agenda that would kill competition among broadband providers while encouraging consolidation among the biggest media conglomerates. This is exactly contrary to Mr Bush’s promises. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is trying to handcuff the cable companies ­ the only real competitors to the telephone industry ­ by imposing an ill-conceived ownership cap that would prevent any single cable company from competing against the Bells for more than 30 per cent of the potential marketplace. What makes this latest regulatory cudgel so puzzling is that this same chairman approved the mergers that resulted in the creation of AT&T and Verizon, without any similar ownership limitations. He allowed them to develop market caps that are 2.4 to 4.4 times greater than that of the largest single cable company while expanding to serve 36 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, of the nation’s homes and businesses.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1cf89fa8-c527-11dc-811a-0000779fd2ac.html?ncli...
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