“In the last decade, the Bell monopolies have all but wiped out their telephone competitors; they have swallowed their long-distance competitors; and with the announcement of the AT&T-BellSouth merger, they are on the verge of recreating Ma Bell. And only one competitor really stands in their way: the cable industry.” —Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), in a letter sent today to members of Congress, responding to the full-court press of AT&T and Verizon in pushing for changes in video franchising rules.

McSlarrow's letter accompanies a document that refutes several of the common "myths and half-truths" espoused by the RBOCs in their quest for special treatment. Another nugget from the letter: “My point here is not to question the merger, which will be handled appropriately by the relevant federal agencies and Congressional committees. Rather, it is to suggest how extraordinary it is for an industry, in which one company alone – AT&T – has a market capitalization greater than that of the entire cable industry, not only to ask for special favors from Congress but in fact demand free license to enter the video market while maintaining all current regulation on a much smaller cable industry.” Click here for the full letter.