Groups Praise Portland Decision Groups Praise Portland Decision Paul Jones
Consumer and Internet advocacy groups quickly lined up to take a stand on the 9th Circuit Court decision handed down late Thursday.
Despite losing the fight to regulate AT&T Corp.'s cable network in Portland, Ore., city officials say their battle to open up competition among Internet service providers would persevere in the long run.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the @Home cable Internet service offered by AT&T (NYSE:T) is in essence a telecommunication service.
Open access proponents contend that the ruling means high-speed cable services are subject to Federal Communications Commission control, if regulations mandating forced access can not be established by municipalities that license local cable franchises.
Kerman Maddox, Open Access Alliance executive director, said AT&T and other cable companies should not be allowed to keep their monopoly over the high-speed cable lines and close out independent ISPs.
