Second , the bills would prohibit the cable companies' current anticompetitive practice of tying and would impose open-access requirements on all broadband access transport providers, cable companies and telephone companies alike. Let me turn first to open access. That fundamental principle has been applied to open up the telephone markets and to protect independent programming in the video market. That's why consumers today can choose their long-distance carrier. It's not dictated by the local company.
Consumers have a choice.
That's open access. That's why cable company operators are not allowed to favor video programmers owned by the cable company in providing cable television service. And that's also why consumers have a choice today when they use the telephone line to get to the Internet. They can choose their ISP - whether America Online or GTE Internetworking or Mindspring or one of the other ISPs in operation. Again, open access.