Broadband Soapbox: The Return of Ma Bell
Our colleagues at CableFAX Daily said this week that AT&T’s purchase of Bell South "could be the best thing to happen to cable." That is, provided regulators and powers- that-be are receptive to the likes of NCTA president and CEO Kyle McSlarrow, who told CableFAX in an exclusive interview that the policymakers need to recognize that "there’s only one constant in the past 10 years, and it’s that the Bells have essentially put Ma Bell together and driven every competitor they’ve had under or bought them or merged with them." As per our coverage of last week’s ECCA congress, European cable faces perhaps an even more un-level playing field, especially in Germany. What’s your view on the state of cable/telco relations? How best to ensure that competition flourishes? And what hurdles exist in the field?