AT&T Division Outlines Cable Access Plan

Market forces and federal regulators vie for position to determine which will be the guiding force behind competitive cable access in the U.S. — Could a National Cable Policy be near?

by ISP-Planet Staff [November 14, 2000]

In the wake of a U.S. District Court opinion penned last week that declared open access unconstitutional in Broward County Fla., AT&T Broadband stepped up to the plate to take a swing at creating a level playing field for all access providers that want in the game.

The AT&T shared access solution could become the de facto national plan if the Federal Trade Commission or the Federal Communication Commission fail to set precedent by attaching open access conditions to the America Online, Time Warner merger plan.

The game according to AT&T
AT&T Broadband's open access solution allows any ISP that passes a series of reliability tests to gain access to its network, for a monthly fee. AT&T Broadband executives said that the tests are compatibility measures designed to to ensure that and independent ISP's proprietary software doesn't crash the AT&T Broadband network.

Field trials are currently being conducted by AT&T Broadband with eight ISPs in Boulder, Colorado. Officials said that the field tests would determine the feasibility of shared cable access once and for all, because it's a real world test of what it takes to get a customer setup with service from several rival ISPs on the same system.

The first test in AT&T Broadband's configuration trials is to determine which connectivity setting is right for efficient routing and billing of each new customer.

The second test guides new users to a Web page where they can choose which ISP they want. AT&T officials said no one ISP has an advantage over the other. AT&T Broadband's brands, albeit Road Runner or @Home, get the same billing as any other Internet service on the system.

The third test runs self-diagnostic software to ferret-out any possible problems with the customer's cable connection before it becomes a service call. After diagnosing a problem, the appropriate agency is informed, whether it's AT&T network administrators or an independent ISP.

Delay of game?
Carl Smith, AT&T Broadband director of advanced products, said the company is obligated to ensure that the customer experiences a glitch-free setup. Smith said getting the system right is going to take a long time.

"We've been approaching this from a customer point of view," Smith said. "The testing is going well and we're ramping-up our service with the other participating ISPs. Something like this takes a significant amount of time to develop, and we're making sure that it's done right, so that consumers have a dependable product."

But the timetable for completing the tests is what has many critics skeptical about AT&T's intent to share its network with rivals. The Colorado tests are set to be followed by a second round of testing in Massachusetts, which is scheduled to start about this time next year — right around the same time that AT&T's exclusive contracts with @Home and RoadRunner services end.

In all fairness, Time Warner hasn't been burning up the road completing its tests of shared cable systems, either.

Mike Luftman, Time Warner spokesperson, said its ongoing feasibility tests in Columbus, Ohio, have just got into gear — while three independent ISPs are waiting in the wings to be added to the network.

Currently America Online, Compuserve, which is owned by AOL, and RoadRunner, which could eventually be owned by AOL are active field trial participants. Basically, AOL is testing its cable system to see if it can share access with AOL brands. Meanwhile, Juno Online Services, MSN, and RMI.NET are waiting in the wings, ready to join the Ohio tests. Luftman said the three ISPs would be included in the field trials "soon." Time Warner's definition of soon is late 2001 to early 2002.

Canadian league rules
Open access proponents have all eyes on Canada, where the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission made shared access the law of the land. The CRTC also required that cable operators resell services to independent ISPs for 25 percent less than the provider's lowest retail price for cable access.

Jay Thomson, Canadian Association of Internet Providers president, said results from Canadian cable testing could accelerate US field trial results.

"We have conducted field tests here in Canada with VideoTron and AOL Canada, field tests that have shown that the technology is there to allow ISPs on the existing network," Thomson said. "Technical tests were conducted in the spring with VideoTron and UUNet Canada and it was determined there was no impediments."

But Canadian wholesale pricing policy has produced mixed results to date. Many smaller ISPs participating in the shared access program can't support the services, so the CRTC is taking a second look at its overall policy.

Cable network operators contend the events in Canada are another reason why access should not be regulated by federal agencies.

Federal regulators on deck
AT&T Broadband's Smith said that "if the government were to become involved in the process here, it would slow everything down. We're moving ahead to finish up the tests and get a good quality product out."

Mark Rosenblum, AT&T vice president of law said the company has argued all along that "choice will best be offered as a result of market forces, not local ordinances or government regulation," adding that the Broward County decision should be applauded.

But cable operators should not be so quick to herald the opinion of U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks — After all, he opined that only the federal government, not the states, can regulate interstate commerce.

Middlebrooks' statement leaves the door wide open for federal regulators to do just that — regulate coax lines in the same manner they oversee copper lines.

The opinion also sets another precedent basically barring local cable franchises and county authorities from regulating access on a city-by-city basis — something that FCC Commissioner William Kennard feared would happen; 30,000 different rules regulating cable access in 30,000 communities.

AT&T Broadband leaders were smart to publicize their ongoing field tests now, while the fate of open access lies firmly in the grasp federal regulators preparing to hand down their guidelines "soon."

If AT&T Broadband's pitch is a hit with the FTC and the FCC, market forces will have won the high-stakes game and AT&T will have captained the team that established a National Cable Policy in the U.S.

— End