Thoughts On "Open Access"

Competition in high speed Internet is desirable, but "open access" to cable, as advocated by Ed Markey and others, will stifle competition, not promote it.

In Lexington, Massachusetts, Cablevision sat on its hands for years while providers in neighboring towns offered high speed Internet. Recently, competition from RCN has prodded them to action. Today, Cablevision (even as it flees the state) and RCN are racing to be the first cable provider in town with high speed Internet. Would they be hanging all that fiber if they had to share it?

We also want companies to be as motivated as possible to develop new technologies to compete with cable and DSL. Surely an "open access" mandate is not the way to do that!

Cable providers still have a lot of expensive infrastructure work ahead of them. Perhaps in five or ten years, regulators can decide whether the cable companies' investments have paid off and whether they are stifling competition. But for now, I'm enjoying the race; please don't revoke the prize before it's over!

High Speed Internet Access in Lexington