AT&T Going after Comcast's Cable Market

AT&T GOING AFTER COMCAST'S CABLE MARKET
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Jessie Seyfer]
What happens when a phone company tries to offer television service where cable TV already operates? A turf war. And in California, there's a battle under way between AT&T, which is trying to install a new TV service that runs over the Internet, and Comcast, one of the dominant cable providers in the state. AT&T has been negotiating with several cities over the past year -- including San Jose -- to install its fledgling TV service, Project Lightspeed. At a press conference Wednesday in Sacramento, company officials said progress has been hampered by decades-old laws that require TV providers to strike franchise agreements with each community where the service will be offered. AT&T is pushing for a new law that would require only statewide franchises. But Comcast and other state cable providers say AT&T is trying to get around perfectly good laws, and that the company's Lightspeed service won't provide high-quality TV service to poor communities. The conflict is emblematic of the rapidly changing world of telecommunications, where phone, cable and even Web companies like Google and Yahoo are scrambling to offer consumers phone, Internet and video services. Federal, state and local lawmakers, meanwhile, are scrambling to figure out the best way to regulate these services.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/14230847.htm