Cable Board Denies Internet Provider Will Recommend Against Giving Company Access To Tci Network

The Spokane City-County Cable Advisory Board came close Wednesday night to joining cities like Portland and San Francisco in taking a progressive stance on high-speed Internet access.

But after more than two hours of deliberation, the board voted 4-3 in favor of denying Internet On Ramp of Spokane access to TCI’s cable network. On Ramp would have used TCI’s lines to offer local customers a rapid Internet service called Perkinet - similar to TCI’s Excite At Home program, which has no local cable-based competition.

The board’s recommendation will be passed on to the City Council and the county commissioners, where it will likely be approved.

For six months, On Ramp has been attempting to tap into TCI’s network, arguing it is entitled to a channel through cable leased-access laws.

Cable firms are required to lease pieces of their network to video programmers, such as infomercial makers. On Ramp has been contending it too offers a service akin to video programming, via the Internet.

The board’s ruling, for now, brings On Ramp’s battle to an anti-climactic end.

However, On Ramp and its parent company, Internet Ventures of California, have a petition pending with the Federal Communications Commission, asking the agency for a clarification on how leased-access laws apply to Internet providers.

“I have to give credit to the board,” said Ken Watts, TCI’s general manager in Spokane. “They came to the right decision on a complex issue.”

TCI, now owned by AT&T, has argued that leased access should be left for the FCC to decide.

Don Janke, president of Internet Ventures, did not say if further attempts would be made to access TCI’s Spokane network.

Board member Jay Cousins, who was planning to vote in favor of granting On Ramp access to TCI’s network, said, “The decision was based on some of the folks on the board not being up to speed.”

Added Cousins: “Our franchise language said we were supposed to encourage competition. I don’t think we did a good job of that this evening.”

The majority of the board members disagreed with that assessment.

While all were in favor of continuing to follow Internet-cable developments, some said recommending leased access as a way for Internet service providers to tap cable lines would have been a mistake.

Others said the matter needs to be studied further.

Wednesday’s board meeting was a follow-up to a recent public hearing in which more than 100 turned out - most to voice their support for On Ramp and other Internet companies that are trying to access cable networks for Internet use around the country.

Portland and surrounding Multnomah County were the first to require that TCI make its network available to Internet service providers. That decision is the matter of an ongoing federal lawsuit. And San Francisco last week indicated it is poised to follow Portland’s lead, with city officials demanding a plan that ensures high-speed Internet competition over cable.