Pat Esser, President, Cox Communications

What troubles me most about the competitive landscape today isn’t the Bells’ fiber-to-the-home promises or their deep discounting of DSL service. It’s not DirecTV’s launch of local high-definition TV channels. At Cox, we'll contend with this as we always have – by delivering high quality products, superior customer service and a great value proposition.

What troubles me most are the competitive battles over the rules of the game being waged in Washington D.C and state capitols. The very same Telecom Reform Act that paved a path for cable to enter the phone business also contained a road map for the Bells to deliver video. Did they forge ahead? Upgrade their networks? Ready the back office? And roll out new services?

No.

A decade later, the road is littered with aspirational Bell press releases promising a fiber optic utopia that doesn’t exist. Instead, their legions of lobbyists beat a path to Congress, state legislators and PUCs seeking regulatory roadblocks, sweetheart deals and short cuts to coast into the video business. Unfortunately, new laws that tilt the competitive playing field in favor of the Bells could lead American consumers barreling down a dead-end street.

The Bells are finally peeking out from behind their press releases and hitting the streets to upgrade their networks. It’s survival of the fittest today, and they need video to stay in the game.

Cox is ready to duke it out for customers and compete in the marketplace. We’ve been doing it successfully for years. I’m all for a less cumbersome, streamlined franchising process that reflects modern competitive realities. But it must apply immediately and evenly to everyone, regardless of the delivery platform. If Verizon, AT&T and others want video franchises, they should be granted – on the same terms as cable.

For the complete text of my speech at the Telecommunications Industry Association's GlobalComm in Chicago today, click here.

[For media coverage on the speech, click here.]