Overview

Competition in cable television is hotly debated within the industry not only because of the rapidly emerging technologies of broadband telecommunications but also because of cable re-regulation aimed at improving competition in cable, while protecting the public. Leland Johnson identifies the most likely competition. Emphasizing local telephone companies and considering the implications of the 1992 Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competitiveness Act, he discusses the prospects for these competitors and recommends policies that would allow the cable industry to grow competitively and avoid the pitfalls of protecting anticompetitive activities or unfairly handicapping competitors with misguided regulation. Johnson reviews prospects for new cable operators other than telephone companies and details chances of local exchange carriers (LECS) such as the Bell operating companies. He analyzes the use of fibre-optic networks for both video and telephone service to compete with incumbent cable systems, the current constraints on competition, and the consequences of lifting the cross-ownership ban to permit the LECs to engage in programming directly. Johnson then explores the economic and technical characteristics of satellite-based systems as a substitute for wireline-video distribution systems and examines terrestrial wireless technologies for multichannel video transmission. A concluding chapter recommends action by Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and state and local governments.

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9780262100540

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Stephen Grossberg is Professor of Mathematics, Psychology, and Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Center for Adaptive Systems at Boston University.

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