Short Take: Oregon 'open access' trial to begin

Oral arguments in the lawsuit between AT&T and the city of Portland and surrounding Multnomah County, Oregon, are scheduled for tomorrow in the state's U.S. District Court. At issue is whether local franchise authorities have the right under federal law to impose "open access" conditions on cable operators. Portland officials wanted ISPs to have equal access to use AT&T's new TCI cable TV networks as part of the companies' merger. Judge Owen Panner is expected to make a ruling in May or June.