At that rate, it would take 65 years to obtain all of the franchise we need in order to complete the initial build portion [of their IPTV rollout]. It is time to remove those barriers to investment and competition. |
For AT&T's part, we will be happy to offer a-la-carte programming as long as we are able to obtain access to the programming in that manner. As we enter the video market, it is our goal to deliver more choices to our customers when they want it, in the way they want it. |
It is important to rescue the people who are working hard to come up with new ideas if we are to have any chance of confronting the big issues in our world. |
The cable-franchising processes may have made sense 20 years ago in a monopoly environment, but applying those processes to new entrants is merely protecting consumers from lower prices. |
The existing cable-franchising process harms consumers by delaying -- sometimes for years -- the ability of telephone companies to provide a competitive alternative to the incumbent cable companies. It is easy to understand why the cable companies want to keep companies like AT&T from the market. |