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openNET Coalition Expresses Disappointment, Optimism Regarding Virginia Court Decision Overturning Open Access Requirement

Washington, DC (03 May 2000) -- The openNET Coalition expressed its disappointment with a decision by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to overturn a cable franchise requirement in Henrico County, VA that mandated open-access to AT&T's high-speed network. But the group also expressed optimism that the decision will allow for swift appellate action upholding the County's requirement.

"Today's decision is a temporary defeat for consumers in Virginia," said Rich Bond, co-director of the openNET Coalition. "By overturning the local government's decision, the Court has taken the right to choose their own ISP out of the hands of consumers and placed it back in the hands of the cable companies. But the decision is only a short-term defeat, as it now places the case squarely in the hands of the federal appellate court which we expect to swiftly uphold the County's open access requirement."

Henrico County, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia had passed the Ordinance to require that AT&T Corp. and MediaOne allow consumers to select the Internet Service Provider of their choice without being obligated to pay for a cable-affiliated ISP.

The only other federal district court in the country to rule on the merits of this issue upheld a similar ordinance in Portland, Oregon. That case is now on appeal before the Ninth Circuit United Stated Court of Appeals in San Francisco. A decision is expected at any time. In March, the United States District Court for Southern Florida turned aside cable industry preemption challenges to a similar Broward County ordinance, finding that the cable companies lacked standing. That case is still before the district court.

OpenNET Coalition member GTE plans to appeal Judge Williams' ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, and expects Henrico County to follow suit. That court has been particularly zealous in protecting the prerogatives of local government under the federal Communications Act. The court of appeals is likely to hear the case by the end of this year.

"Not only is this fight far from over, but we are delighted to have the case 'fast-tracked' to the Court of Appeals in Richmond," added Bond. "Judge Williams recognized from the bench that he has been overturned before by the appellate court for finding that local community requirements were preempted by federal law. We fully expect that he will be reversed again and that the County ? and, more importantly, consumers ? will be vindicated."

The openNET Coalition represents more than 900 Internet service providers and other Internet-related companies around the United States. For more information on the coalition, visit our Web site at http://www.opennetcoalition.org.

Source: OpenNet Coalition Press Release