AT&T Deal Raises Issue of Internet Control

[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
Consumer groups and big online brands say mega-deals such as the proposed AT&T purchase of BellSouth are creating a growing threat to the openness of the Internet by consolidating power in the hands of companies that provide access to the Web. To date, cable and telephone companies have had limited ability to act as gatekeepers or toll collectors for the content passing through their networks. But AT&T Inc. Chairman Edward E. Whitacre Jr. and executives at BellSouth Corp. -- companies that together serve nearly half the country -- have been outspoken about their desire to exert greater control over their lines. The proposed $67 billion purchase of BellSouth gives the issue new urgency among opponents. Jeff Chester, executive director for consumer-advocacy group Center for Digital Democracy, said questions over the freedom of the Internet will figure heavily into the AT&T-BellSouth deal. "[Regulators] are sadly mistaken if they believe there won't be intense opposition to this deal from all those who care for the Internet's democratic and competitive future," he said. "AT&T's ambition knows no bounds and places the future of the broadband Internet at risk."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/08/AR2006030802326.html
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* The New Media Monopoly
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
[Commentary] AT&T's $67 billion merger with BellSouth could enable those who control the information pipes to also control the information.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/33289/