FTC
decision: A broadband portent? (cont’d)
By Corey Grice and Evan Hansen
Industry
observers expressed cautious optimism that the FTC had settled
key competitive questions. "I think (the FTC) has done a fairly
good job in addressing many of the highspeed Internet
concerns we expressed to them," said W. Scott McCollough, an
attorney for the Texas ISP Association, which represents 600
highspeed Internet broadband ISPs. "They tried to give us every
opportunity to get on the system."
AOL
highspeed Internet broadband competitor EarthLink, which signed
an access deal with Time Warner before the FTC decision, also
praised the consent decree. "EarthLink is pleased that America
Online and Time Warner have agreed to a settlement and that the
Federal Trade Commission has voted unanimously to approve their
merger," said Dave Baker, vice president for law and public
policy at EarthLink.
"Today's
FTC highspeed Internet broadband decision helps ensure that Time
Warner Cable customers will have real choices in highspeed
Internet broadband providers and content."
Lande
offered a more cautious appraisal of the highspeed Internet
broadband deal, calling it a "reasonable" settlement considering
the risks of a court battle. But he said the final agreement was
as much of a compromise for the FTC as it was for AOL.
"You can
talk about certain things (regulators) seem to have gotten, but
the devil's in the details," he said. "The FTC has added
provisions to make (AOL) negotiate with other highspeed Internet
broadband competitors in good faith ... but there could be
problems with enforcement."
