The most impressive aspect of last Monday's ten principles is the range of companies that signed on. The computer companies obviously see the Internet as their next big source of sales. But they have no need to protect competition in this medium. Thus, to the outrage of some Internet providers, Dell and Compaq announced around the time of the October Comdex trade show that they were teaming up with the Bell company US West. Perhaps the incumbents will take pity on the small telephone and Internet companies.
Cable modems represent the kind of monopoly that Internet providers fear in telephony.
If you buy a cable modem, the only Internet provider you can sign up with is the one chosen by your cable TV company. So the fight for Internet competition must be waged on two fronts at once.