Short Take: Cambridge supports open access

The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts is poised to force AT&T to open its high-speed cable network to Internet service providers as part of the local approval process for Ma Bell's acquisition of MediaOne Group. City manager Robert Healy sent a letter to AT&T this week calling for nondiscriminatory access for competing ISPs. AT&T and other cable operators have been adamantly opposed to what they call "forced access," and have sued some other local governments that have imposed a so-called open access mandate.