AT&T bill holds key to Internet future in TN

AT&T BILL HOLDS KEY TO FUTURE
[SOURCE: The Daily News Journal (Murfreesboro, TN), AUTHOR: Ed Kimbrell]
[Commentary] For the past few weeks, behind closed doors at the state Capitol, American Telephone and Telegraph, Comcast cable, the Tennessee Municipal League, and selected legislators have been trying to forge a tortured compromise about the Internet's future in the state. What's at stake here? Simply, the future. There are billions of dollars of potential revenue on the table. AT&T is the largest wireless telephone provider in the nation, and if it bundles TV, Internet and telephone service into one package, it will be very difficult to turn it down by the average consumer. Cable argues AT&T will not provide universal service, picking only the lucrative cities and towns and leaving the rest unserved. AT&T already bundles wireless and wired telephone service. So, simply put, it could dominate the information and entertainment environment in the state at a time when the telephone is becoming the dominant information technology in the world. Only fools predict Oscar winners, Supreme Court decisions, and what our Legislature will decide, but it's obvious this is one of those times when law and compromise are overwhelmed by new technology. There's no Solomon able to make a decision about the cable-telephone war. Don't be surprised if the outcome this year isn't any different than last year's stalemate, because no one at the table wants to lose.
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