FCC Opposes Forcing AT&T; to Open Cable TV Systems to Net Providers

The Federal Communications Commission told an appeals court that Portland, Ore., should not require AT&T; Corp. to open its cable TV systems to rivals for high-speed Internet service.

Chairman William Kennard has signaled for weeks that he opposes regulating Internet services, including those delivered over cable lines.

Cable operators and Internet service providers are closely watching the Portland case because it may help to set national policy on whether cable companies must offer their competitors “open access” for high-speed data services.

The FCC said in a brief filed with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that it is “the only agency with jurisdiction over all the current providers of broadband technology,” arguing that a patchwork of local regulations “could undermine the development of intermodal competition” between cable operators and other telecom companies.

While Kennard did not close the door completely on regulation, he said he wants to promote competition through technologies such as wireless phones and satellites.

Internet providers have argued that cable operators should be required to give them open access, drawing comparisons to the regional phone companies that must open up their local systems to competitors before they can offer long-distance service.