Yesterday a Superior Court Judge finally put Attorney General Dick Blumenthal in his place and allowed for unfettered competition in an alternative television service provided by AT&T.
Superior Court Judge Robert McWeeney's ruling overturned a decision by the Department of Public Utility Control which ruled that AT&T could not offer it's U-verse service without applying for a costly and lengthy cable franchise. AT&T, which had paved the way for the new technology by hiring hundreds of employees and building a high-tech infrustructure, threatened to pull the plug and walk away.
Earlier this year, the Legislature had adopted laws that cleared the path for AT&T entry into this market. DPUC had sought a federal ruling on the definition of a cable franchise and the feds found what AT&T was offering fit that category and they had to file. DPUC and Blumenthal jumped on that thin reed and tried to stop AT&T. But the federal ruling had no standing, since the deregulation laws allow the states to decide. Someone forgot to read that law to Blumenthal.
AT&T took them to Superior Court and won.
There was no sign of Blumenthal Wednesday. He issued a very lame press release.
"We may differ on legal issues, but we share the goal of providing cable consumers with this new service so they, hopefully, have the benefits of lower prices and better service. Continued legal combat ill-serves that common objective," Blumenthal said in a statement.
The new U-verse service is an exciting new product and it will be offered initially in about a third of the market. Once the market develops, more homes will be hooked up. Why, because they have a product that is new, offered at a price and people will try it. It might succeed. It might fail. But that is the free market. Only in Connecticut, does a company have to sue its way into the marketplace. You wonder why there has been no positive job growth in Connnecticut since 1991.
It tracks with the emergence of Dick Blumenthal as State Attorney General.
AT&T's struggle should wake up the rest of the Connecticut business community to who the real threat is to bottom line - taxes by the Democrats and lawsuits and bullying by Dick Blumenthal. At what point is the business community to stand up and say enough is enough?
But U-verse? Sounds like the bomb. Sign me up.
01 November 2007
Blumenthal Spanked by Ma Bell
Posted by Chris Healy at 06:24
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6 comments:
The post fails to mention that it was the Democrats who pushed this law through the legislature this session, with bipartisan support. Blumenthal was dumb with his position, but then again Rell should have forced DPUC to support it.
What's the most dangerous place in Connecticut? Between a t.v. camera and Dick Blumenthal ( the worst a.g. in America )
True story: I was at a fair one time and Dick Blumenthal walked by me and another gentleman I was speaking with. The gentleman almost recoiled in horror. I asked him what it was all about and he said, "I've been sued by him, too."
And he was a legitimate business man who was paying taxes, trying to make a profit , and employing the middle class. That's what Dick likes to target...
Anyone know how much his driver makes? He's been seen sleeping in the limo while waiting for Dick who is exercising/swimming at the taking Care Center in Hartford.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Public tax money paid job no doubt.
Hopefully this will open the door for Verizon to enter the Connecticut market as well.
If their landline phone, cable and internet service is a tenth as good as their wireless (and I pray it is) they'll the be the guys to beat.
AT&T is really a renamed SBC; and we all noticed how quickly SNET degenerated from the best phone company in the world to nothing special at all, as soon as those characters took over.
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