Description
An increasing amount of legislative and regulatory activity in America today is concerned with securing mandatory “open access: ” requiring that a company or industry sector share its network, facilities, or specific technologies with rivals. Electric, phone and cable companies, wireless carriers, and even AOL(R) Time Warner’s Instant Messenger(TM) service, the Visa/MasterCard network, and of course, Microsoft’s Windows(R) operating system, have been the target of open access supporters. While proponents regard them as competition-enhancing, open access policies impose burdensome price and quality controls and attendant regulation, usher in litigation, and discourage genuine competition and innovation.
