When a Level Playing Field Isn't.(cable franchising)

Multichannel News, April, 2006 by Brown, Karen

By Karen Brown How Longstanding Regulations Can Work in Favor Of New Entrants If the telecommunications market were a spectator sport, and its participants were competing in a stadium, the government would watch from the sidelines while communications competitors battled for customers and their dollars on a level competitive playing field.

But with such players as AT&T Inc. CEO Ed Whitacre and Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt each calling for a perfectly flat field, you'll find there isn't one. And typically, as competition forms, there is a definite tilt: New service players are given an advantage over established rivals by being allowed to avoid federal, state and even local taxation. BARTON SENDS A BILL Example No. 1: Voice...