Re:RE: Comcast merger FAQs

[Garrett Wollman <wollman@lcs.mit.edu>]

<<On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 18:55:42 -0800 (PST), Joseph Pappalardo <joepappalardo2001@yahoo.com> said:

> So, I think the FCC doesn't view it as a monopoly when
> there is only one 'cable' in town....they consider Sat
> TV on an equal footing.

The framers of the Telecom Act thought (erroneously) that the phone
companies would be eager to offer video services over the brand-new
fiber outside plant they were going to be rolling out Real Soon Now.
The idea was that video and voice services, instead of being two
separate monopolies, would be two competitive duopolies.  Neither the
economics nor the technology worked out that way.

-GAWollman