HERE COMES THE SUPERWIRE
Issue: Convergence

A look at why the proposed AT&T/TCI merger might actually be in the best interests of consumers. The Bell Atlantic/TCI deal fell apart because all it promised was video-on-demand. This deal, on the other hand, is "the manifestation of the new thinking of Convergence...[t]he new model of the info highway is a kind of laneless, high-speed freeway." The deal will provide the long-awaited superwire to the home. In the 50's and 60's, the three broadcast TV networks controlled television content; by the 80's it was TCI's John Malone. "In the converged Internet era, no one has the exclusive ability to foreclose access to content or services." Broadcasters, the authors suggest, should be seizing the opportunities presented by the transition to digital TV by exploring the potential of joint ventures with ISPs and starting local newspapers that will challenge entrenched monopolistic publishers. Cable companies should be rushing to create or buy into portal websites. And Washington should "be clearing away the old order lickety-split" by ending cross-ownership rules. As for the public interest -- think access since most middle-class homes still lack Internet access. The goal is to create competition in content markets while providing a "clear statement about how access to the superwire will be provided for all Americans."

[SOURCE: Brill's Content (p.77)AUTHOR: Reed Hundt & Blair Levin (you know, those ex-FCC guys)]


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