This press release is copyrighted by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). Its use is granted only to journalists and news media.
The flap over open access began in 1998-99 when the acquisition of TCI and MediaOne made AT&T the country's largest cable provider. Internet service providers (ISPs) like AOL and Verizon, fearing that AT&T would abuse its market power to favor its own online services and downplay theirs, brought their case before government regulators.
Then last year, AOL announced its proposed merger with Time Warner, and the situation took a curious turn. From being a company dependent on others for broadband connections into the consumer's home, it was instantly converted into a leading provider of such connections. After some waffling, both AOL and AT&T affirmed their commitment to open access.
Still, technically speaking, doubts remain as to how well and how soon it could work. There are several ways of reconfiguring cable systems so that multiple ISPs can use the same hybrid fiber coax lines. But it is not yet clear which is best--technical trials have only recently begun. Ironically, too, the best-performing systems risk becoming overloaded and performing the worse for it.
Contacts: Mark Ingebretsen, 515 274 6341, [email protected]; Matt Siegel, 202 662 1374, [email protected].
For faxed copies of the article ("Cable Industry Slouches Toward Open Access" by Contributing Editors Mark Ingebretsen and Matt Siegel, IEEE Spectrum, April 2001, pp. 74-79) or to arrange an interview, contact: Nancy T. Hantman, 212 419 7561, [email protected].
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