SBC, Bell Atlantic launch broadband lobbying effort

As expected, the two largest regional Bell operating companies Monday announced the formation of a lobbying group co-chaired by President Clinton's former press secretary, Mike McCurry, to shape broadband regulations their way.

McCurry, together with former Republican congresswoman Susan Molinari, will head the Internet Advancement Coalition (iAdvance). The basic goal of the group, which is backed by SBC and Bell Atlantic, is to equalize the data regulations for telephone and cable companies. This means that AT&T must do more to open its network to competitors, while RBOCs need to do less.

The Federal Communications Commission's rules on local interconnection are currently much stricter for telcos than they are for cable companies. AT&T won the right to keep its networks closed in its acquisition of former cable TV leader Tele-Communications, Inc., though AT&T insists it may voluntarily open its networks later. RBOCs, by contrast, must offer DSL-conditioned local loops, allow collocation of DSL equipment to competitors, and resell all of their DSL services to other service providers.

The new iAdvance group also includes American Telemedicine Association, the American Council on Education, and the National Association of Development Organizations. The group won the endorsement of Gateway. Many PC manufacturers have previously supported RBOC efforts to loosen their broadband resale requirements.

However, the initial funding for iAdvance appears to be mostly from RBOCs. Another founding member, the Alliance for Public Technology, is a long-standing public-interest organization that boasts many consumer groups on its masthead but is housed in a Washington, D.C., policy shop heavily backed by RBOC interests.

The RBOCs contend that the myriad FCC telco regulations deter investment - the exact same argument AT&T is now using to defend its closed-network policy. In its initial policy statement, iAdvance urged all cable companies to open their networks but stopped short of demanding FCC or congressional action. This action was called for by an explicitly anti-AT&T group called openNET Coalition led by America Online with help from MCI WorldCom, Sprint and many ISPs.

The iAdvance group promises to post studies showing the effect of regulations on broadband-network investment on its new Web site.

McCurry became the head of the Public Interest Group, a lobbying organization, after leaving the White House late last year. Molinari was the keynote speaker at the 1996 Republican National Convention but later left Congress for a brief stint in television. She is also a lobbyist. The openNET Coalition and AT&T have hired former White House and top congressional aides from Democratic and Republican camps as part of the high-profile fight over AT&T's cable broadband policy.

iAdvance's Web site

D.C. marauders
Network World, 01/04/99