open access in cable systems

[Bob Carlitz <bob@giotto.info-ren.org>]

There was a very important court decision yesterday.
The city of Portland won a suit against AT&T.  A federal 
judge ruled that AT&T must allow rival Internet companies
in the Portland area access to its high-speed cable
lines.  

This court decision is relevant to Pittsburgh's negotiations
with AT&T.  I don't know if the city's negotiating team
has been asking for open access of the type that Portland
sought, but such access has obvious benefits for Pittsburgh
residents.  The boldness of Portland in bringing their
suit and their success in winning in court should bolster
Pittsburgh's efforts in this area.

The issue of open access is not immediately relevant
to an I-Net proposal.  It does, however, indicate that
cities which develop coherent telecommunications strategies
can implement these strategies in their negotations with
cable companies.  Let's hope that Pittsburgh will push
its I-Net strategy as boldly as Portland has pushed for
open access.  Open access would probably be a good thing
for Pittsburgh, too.

Bob Carlitz