LA ISPs Seek Parley with FCC

Four firms offer ISP views to balance those of cable execs.

by Patricia Fusco
of internetnews.com
[December 20, 1999]

Four Los Angeles-area Internet service providers are urging FCC Chairman William Kennard to balance out his scheduled discussions with cable executives last week, by granting them a 10-minute meeting to discuss their side of the open access debate.

Jim Pickrell of Brand X Internet, Mario Araujo of AztecaNet, Tony Cappelli of LA Bridge Internet and Hossein Farmani of aNet Communications said in a letter sent to Kennard that it would only be fair for the head federal regulator to speak with them about open access to closed cable networks.

"We, too, would like to speak to you regarding open access," the letter said. "The cable industry has one perspective. As independent ISPs, we have an entirely different perspective."

Fair is fair
"You will be delivering a special address at the Cable Television Association's 'Western Show' convention on Thursday morning and meeting with cable executives to discuss the open access issue," the letter continued. "We respectfully request 10 minutes, or whatever time you have available, to share our views on the open access issue."

The foursome representing independent ISPs in the Los Angeles area said they would meet with Kennard anywhere at any time, and that equal access to the Commissioner was only fair.

"Given the amount of time you will be spending with cable company executives during your trip, we believe this request is both fair and reasonable. We hope and trust you will agree," the letter said.

"All we are asking for is a level playing field," Pickrell said. "The Internet is flourishing today because the telephone companies are required by law to open their lines to competition. We'd like to be given an equal chance."

The ISP owners have not received a response to their request.

Go-slow FCC
The FCC has declined to require cable companies to open their high-speed Internet lines to competition. As a result of federal inaction, local municipalities across the nation have levied open-access conditions as part of AT&T Corp.'s terms to assume TeleCommunications Inc. and MediaOne Group ( UMG) franchises.

AT&T (T) spelled out the details of its commitment to open access to their cable networks in a letter sent last week to Chairman William Kennard. The letter was co-signed by AT&T and MindSpring executives,as MindSpring (MSPG) is set to become one of the first new AT&T Internet transport service artners when AT&T's exclusive contract with Excite@Home. (ATHM) expires in 2002.

For the most part, independent ISPs consider AT&T's actions a stall tactic to delay their ability to tap into closed cable systems and provide broadband services other than proximity-limited Digital Subscriber Line access.

Transition timetable
Open access proponent Greg Simon, OpenNET Coalition co-director, said a more reasonable transition period for open access to AT&T's cable networks is to convert the closed system in a matter of months, not more than two years.

"The OpenNet Coalition welcomes the AT&T-MindSpring agreement because it ends the debate as to whether open access is good for business and consumers," Simon said. "AT&T concedes that the technology to share cable network access is available and that deployment should take place as quickly as possible."

Los Angeles has been a hotbed of the open access debate since this summer when the Digital Coast Roundtable began lobbying members of the Los Angeles City Council not to force cable to open their networks to competitors.

Anti-open-access lobby
Digital Coast Inc. is a group that represents influential new media companies in Los Angeles. The Digital Coast Roundtable is chaired by Los Angeles' Mayor Richard Riordan, a staunch proponent of closed access to cable networks.

Under the auspices of the non-profit organization, the group was formed to develop public and private partnerships with the new media industry in Los Angeles. The group wants to promote the City of Angels as the digital epicenter of the Internet media industry.

For many of the companies represented by the Roundtable, widespread deployment of broadband Internet technologies is crucial to their businesses. Digital Coast Roundtable members include Paramount Digital Entertainment, the Disney Channel, USA Networks Interactive, NBC.com, KPMG, Dreamworks Interactive, Sun Microsystems Inc., eToys and several members of the Los Angeles City Council.

The group contends those local governments in Portland, Ore., and elsewhere which decided to mandate open access to local cable networks would deter the deployment of broadband access nationwide.

The Los Angeles council is expected to decide the issue of open access to cable networks in the next few months.

—End