The Issue At Hand

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The High Stakes of High-Speed Internet Access:
Will Thousands of Pittsburghers be Left Behind?

Sometime during this decade, the Internet made the leap from luxury item to day-to-day necessity. Today, Internet access is a basic tool for work and play, for the education of our children, and for bringing the most innovative medical technology to even the most remote locations in this country and the world.

But just as basic Internet access has revolutionized our lives in ways unimaginable only a few years ago, high-speed Internet access will be the means to further enhance our lives in the years to come.

If we have open access and real choices, that is.

AT&T's Threat to Consumer Choice

AT&T's acquisition of one of the nation's largest cable TV companies (TCI), combined with its pending merger with yet another cable giant (MediaOne), poses a very real threat to consumers' high-speed Internet access choices. If AT&T is allowed to use its cable modem technology to provide customers with Internet access only through its affiliated Internet Service Provider (ISP), consumer choice will effectively be eliminated.

The Pittsburgh Cable Franchise is up for renewal at the end of October. The City Council is currently considering an Open Access provision as part of that renewal. Unless Pittsburgh City Council mandates that AT&T open its cable lines to competition, thousands of Western Pennsylvania residents may lose their ability to choose which ISP is best for them. Without competition among ISPs, Internet subscription prices are likely to skyrocket. Further, all ISPs steer users to certain sites, ensuring that they load and run faster, while other sites run slowly, or not at all. Without competition among ISPs, consumers will have to accept the content preference of only one ISP, or pay twice to stay with the ISP of their choice. We will have nowhere else to turn for high-speed cable Internet service.

As Choice Decreases, Prices Increase

If AT&T has its way, the only way Pittsburgh consumers would retain a choice of provider would be if they paid for it twice.

Customers using AT&T's cable modem to access the high-speed network will have to purchase AT&T's ISP service as well. If those customers want to use a different ISP, they will pay for that service in addition to the AT&T ISP—in effect paying twice. By "bundling" cable modem access with its ISP product, AT&T is effectively "locking in" customers who are forced to buy the ISP, whether they want it or not.

The Impact On You And the Rest of Pittsburgh

High-speed service is the next Internet frontier, and is likely to make surfing a breeze (up to 100 times faster) and enabling enhanced video and audio features. For elderly citizens in rural areas, this means access to vital new telemedicine applications never before available. For students, it means better, faster connections to video footage and other information.

AT&T's control over cable systems threatens this limitless future.

The Best Solution For Everyone

Local and National ISPs aren't asking for a free ride. They are willing to pay a fair price for the use of AT&T's network to provide high-speed Internet services—a fair price that will give them open access to the cable network, creating a level playing field for competitive ISPs and the AT&T-owned service. This would allow AT&T to recover a fair return for the use of its facilities, while allowing robust competition which would benefit the consumer. After all, open access in the telephone industry has served consumers in providing multiple choices for long distance service.

As Pittsburgh City Council prepares to vote on renewing AT&T’s cable contract with the city, Southwestern Pennsylvania has the chance to open high-speed Internet access to all ISPs. This gives City Council members a tremendous opportunity to protect their constituents' interests by making open access a condition of the contract renewal. If City Council members don't act, or if they delay, Pittsburgh’s Web surfers will be left out in the cold with AT&T able to dictate how they obtain access to the Internet.