Defining Open Access—continued

Steve Case, America Online chairman and chief executive officer
Excerpts from his Opening Remarks at the Time Warner Merger:

    "A combined AOL-Time Warner would build on our companies' demonstrated commitment to open access ... I have always been a believer in open access, and I am proud of the role AOL has played in getting us—and, increasingly, the marketplace at large to where we are today. It is gratifying to see that most of the country's largest cable companies, including Time Warner and AT&T, are moving forward with open access policies and implementation plans.

     "We are increasingly optimistic about how soon we will have a multiple ISP environment on the Time Warner cable systems. We understand the Commission will be taking an industry-wide look at the open access issue—and we want to assure you that we will be continuing our own efforts to ensure real choice among ISPs as quickly as possible."

What industry analysts say
So the industry collectively defines open access as an ISP's right to secure unencumbered interconnection with cable companies in order to level the playing field among rival services and permit consumers to have a choice of providers. That's a mouthful—perhaps a few industry analysts could narrow our view of open access to cable systems.

Dave McClure, US Internet Industry Association president:

     "Our definition is almost identical to AOL's."

Dave Burstein, DSL Prime:

     "A few contracts aren't the same thing as cable access. All the independents will die if they aren't included in access agreements. We need the creativity of the ISP industry, and blocked pipes will kill them. I urge you to consider open access for the content, not just the ISP. That's a crucial freedom of speech issue going forword."

J. Berman, A. Davidson, P. Bruening of the Center for Democracy and Technology
Excerpt from remarks at FCC Hearing on Time Warner Merger:

     "Openness, the hallmark of the narrowband Internet, is central to the development of the Internet as a dynamic and democratic communications medium. Through its openness and decentralization, the Internet makes it possible for anyone to be a publisher and to reach millions of listeners worldwide simply and inexpensively.

     "The narrowband Internet's low barriers to entry allow nearly anyone to be an Internet Service Provider and to participate in the global network on an equal par with others. The broad availability of the Internet gives businesses, nonprofit organizations, and individuals the unprecedented ability to speak, and allows listeners to receive content, free from governmental or private interference.

     "As Judge Stewart Dalzell of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania stated in ACLU v. Reno, 'the Internet provides significant access to all who wish to speak in the medium, and even creates a relative parity among speakers.'"

What your political commentator says
Wait a minute—how did our search for understanding open access expand into a First Amendment issue? No wonder federal regulators can't get a handle on open access—it's grown into a free speech anathema that has nothing to do with cable connectivity for ISPs.

Let's keep sight of the issue at hand. Open access is about a consumer's freedom to choose the broadband provider of their choice. Perhaps an expert in semantics would help?

Merriam-Webster
As quoted by Patricia Fusco, ISP-Planet associate editor:

     open: having no enclosing or confining barrier : accessible on all or nearly all sides.

     access: permission, liberty, or ability to enter, approach, communicate with, or pass to and from: freedom or ability to obtain or make use of: a way or means of access.

So open access simply means no barriers to cable transport. Why didn't somebody say that in the first place?

Now that federal regulators have made open access to cable systems a condition of their AOL-Time Warner merger approval, other cable firms, like AT&T, will have no choice but to eagerly strike deals with independent ISPs in order to compete with AOL.

Granted, an open access rider for AOL is a lot like a line-sharing order for incumbent carriers. But at least we will see if consumer choice can pry open the door for independent Internet service providers to enter the market segment. Cable companies like Comcast, Cox Communications, Cablevision, and others will have no choice but to follow suit.

Only then will real open access truly be our national broadband policy.

— End

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