Digital subscriber line customers can gain high-speed access with the ISP of their choice. Cable customers, on the other hand, have limited or no choice because owners of cable broadband networks are not required to permit unaffiliated Internet Service Providers to offer Internet services over their facilities. Classification of cable Internet access facilities as telecommunications services will allow open access principles to be consistently applied across technologies. Consumers will benefit due to the ability to choose which ISP best meets their needs. ISPs will benefit by being able to offer Internet services over all varieties of access technology, both narrowband and broadband.
Technological innovation is promoted by fostering the openness of the Internet platform.
A measured regulatory response now may forestall greater problems in the future, including the potential for anti-trust action, should the level of competition on the Internet suffer due to cable companies' corporate closed access policies. Regulatory action would not likely reduce investment. Rather, applying consistent open access principles to cable and telephone company broadband Internet access facilities would level the regulatory playing field and encourage competition between these alternative access technologies. 2 Widespread broadband competition would mitigate the need for regulatory action. However, it is unreasonable to expect that the majority of residential Internet users will face broadband access competition in the near future.