Now that cable and TV companies are beginning to compete with one another it is interesting to see how the battle is becoming perhaps 80% regulatory. The other 20% is competition based on price and features. At least that is how it is playing out in New York State. Cable companies are doing their best to stop the rapid ascent of phone companies in various villages and towns. They further don’t want to allow phone companies to become TV providers without the ultra-restrictive rules the cable companies had to adhere to. In a way the phone companies are getting what they used to dish out to their competitive providers such as CLECs and VoIP companies.

If the government is interested in fostering real competition for broadband and other services and moreover is interested in making sure the US can compete effectively with other countries, they need to find a way to put an end to bickering and lawsuits on a town-by-town basis and allow competition to be based exclusively on price and features.