FCC Chief Cites Need for Net Access Policy

William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, assured cable executivesmeeting here Tuesday that the agency will create a national policy for high-speed Internet services rather than leave it to the nation’s 30,000 local cable franchising authorities.

Kennard’s comments, coming after months on the sidelines of one of the most important debates in telecommunications, was cheered at the National Cable Television Assn.’s annual convention.

The remarks suggest that cities might have less leeway in determining how their residents get high-speed access to the Internet.

“Imagine if we had a highway system where every town could set the parameters for the size of cars and the size of lanes, or how to get on the on-ramps and off-ramps,” Kennard said at a breakfast meeting of about 100 executives, who responded with a standing ovation. “We wouldn’t be able to drive to the store, much less to another state.”

The FCC stance follows a ruling by a federal court in Portland, Ore., last week that said the city could require AT&T; Corp. to open its cable network to Internet providers other than its own @Home service as a condition for taking over the local franchise of Tele-Communications Inc., which AT&T; bought in March.

Although Kennard offered no details about when the agency might craft such a policy, he suggested that it was too early in the development of the high-speed market to impose regulations that might dampen competition. He said the cable operators have fewer subscribers than slower-speed services such as America Online Inc. and therefore do not represent a monopoly threat.

The dispute over “open access” broke out in Los Angeles this week with the resignation of the chairman of the Information Technology Commission, Alan Arkatov. The mayoral appointee wanted to require cable operators to open networks to all Internet providers as a new condition for awarding cable franchises.

Mayor Richard Riordan takes the cable industry’s view that imposing regulations would stifle the billions of dollars these companies are investing and ultimately hurt consumers by stalling the introduction of high-speed services.

Rather than regulate cable, Kennard said, he would be inclined to create incentives for local phone companies to invest in high-speed Internet solutions. Cable connections currently are up to 100 times faster than conventional phone lines.

“The Baby Bells have been given the road map to their liberation. All they need is the courage to compete,” Kennard said, referring to telecommunications deregulation that allows local phone companies to offer television and other services.

Kennard’s support did not come without a warning. “The ball is in your court,” he told the cable crowd. “If you act responsibly, consumers will get broadband and the broadband pipe will follow the open tradition of the Internet. But we are watching.”