Competition in cable can come either from a new company using the same technology or from someone with an Open Video System service, a new category of company that received special treatment in the Telecommunications Act. While the OVS category was designed to help phone companies enter the cable market, they haven't taken up the challenge. Instead, a variety of smaller companies are trying to gain entry. OVS was originally expected to be exploited by phone companies to get into the cable business, but they've been slow to pick it up. New companies shouldn't scare the established ones.
Enormous sums have to be invested to lay new wires.
And the new entrant has to advertise heavily just to let customers know it has arrived, let alone woo them away from the company they've relied on for years. But the state of pricing and service in the cable industry apparently leaves plenty of room for attractive offers from new entrants. Enter the level playing field law. It depends on whether you take a historical view. Current cable monopolies signed contracts in a different era.