W. Hollywood Joins Backers of Open Access

In the latest victory for proponents of so-called open access to high-speed cable lines, the West Hollywood City Council has voted to make the issue a top priority in future cable franchise negotiations.

The 3-2 vote late Monday followed Culver City’s approval last week of a measure to require cable companies to lease space on their high-speed networks to competing Internet service providers rather than being able to favor their own.

The Los Angeles City Council is expected to take up the issue next year.

The West Hollywood vote requires the issue of opening cable lines to competitors to be a negotiating point in cable franchise renewal agreements when the city begins talks next year with Adelphia Communications Corp., the current provider.

Councilman Steve Martin said he had hoped the council would have been more demanding.

“Putting open access on the table to discuss and demanding it are two different things,” Martin said. “I see the vote as a victory, but clearly the Adelphia people were ecstatic when they left the meeting room.”

But the vote was still hailed by proponents of open access, who say AT&T; Corp. and other phone and cable companies are limiting consumer choice by favoring Internet service providers they own.

“Consumers should be able to use the Internet service provider they want, whether they are accessing the Internet through phone lines or broadband cable,” said Kerman Maddox, chairman of the Southern California Open Access Alliance.

Helen Goss, West Hollywood public information and cable television manager, said all council members supported open access but disagreed over how strong the language of their measure should be.

She said it was pointless to invite litigation from cable companies, some of which have filed suit against cities that have voted in favor of open access.

AT&T; sued Portland, Ore., after its City Council voted to require the cable company to open its high-speed Internet lines to competition.

“What’s important is the language of the franchise agreement,” Goss said.

Opponents on both sides of the issue have unleashed publicity blitzes of late. Cable companies, including AT&T;, are reluctant to lease their high-speed networks to independent services such as America Online Inc. At stake is potentially billions of dollars consumers are likely to spend on faster-than-ever Internet access.