A fight over who holds the keys to the Internet is brewing in several major cities. PNS commentator Jeff Murai argues that the city should keep its hands off AT&T, which has the experience and expertise to offer Internet access to the community. Murai, president of Market Garage, Inc. in San Francisco is past-president of the Nikkei Lions Club in San Francisco and an active volunteer in the Asian community. One of two articles presenting opposing views on this question.

The technology bullet train known as the Internet has been speeding across America at lightning pace. Carved out in its revolutionary wake are new and exciting channels of opportunity for people of all ages -- animated stories for our kids, volunteer opportunities in the community, and information on companies and ventures for businesses.

To further expedite the Internet services, cable companies are now offering "broadband," a remarkable technology that allows high-speed Internet access. Broadband is remarkably faster than anything seen before on the Net. While cable may be the first to offer broadband services commercially, other emerging technologies will also offer such services, including satellite, wireless, and telephone digital subscriber lines (DSL).

High-speed Internet access has gained a great deal of attention recently in San Francisco. The city, known for being a business and cultural leader with a diverse ethnic mix, is particularly focused on how its residents can benefit from speedier and better Internet access.

In fact, this concern has produced a brouhaha at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. On one side are those who argue that the Board should force cable companies to allow telephone companies and Internet Service Providers (ISP) to use the cable companies' infrastructure. Others say there should be an "open market," arguing that this will drive prices down by making everyone compete for customers.

Forced regulation of high-speed Internet access makes no sense right now and would actually delay what was intended to be a speedy process. Cable companies and AT&T have made a concentrated investment in broadband technology to ensure that the greatest number of consumers have the opportunity to reap the many rewards of high-speed access.

America Online (AOL) and local phone companies such as SBC/Pac Bell want to use the cable lines owned by AT&T and the cable companies to offer the same services. But these firms have had the opportunity to implement high-speed Internet access for years, and opted not to do so. Instead of moving forward with innovative technologies, they chose the low road, demanding that government force the market leader to share its cable lines. It may sound like a battle of the corporations, but it is much more than that, and our communities will end up the losers if government is allowed to intrude.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agrees. As FCC Chairman Kennard stated in a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, "We should not try to intervene in this marketplace. We need to monitor the roll out but recognize we don't have all the answers because we don't know where we're going." Kennard insisted that cable companies should not be forced to open their cable lines to competitors and that such issues should be discussed at the national level, not in a local fashion.

Regulatory processes tend to politicize questions that are best left to innovation and consumer choice. History shows that any decision governments might make now about which technology should be advanced will be fraught with unintended consequences. The growth of the Internet will not be helped by governmental policies that impose artificial distortions in the marketplace.

The Board of Supervisors' action will clearly impact the future of the Internet in our community and possibly nationwide. We need to remind local leaders that high-speed Internet access is still in a very early stage, much too early to insist on government regulation. We need to remind our leaders that cable is one of many roads and that other high-speed Internet technologies are rapidly emerging. Most importantly, we need to remind our leaders that high-speed Internet access via AT&T's cable lines will open new doors to many people in our community and a vote for forcing access means slamming that door shut in their faces.

Forced access is not the right way to go. Let's tell our elected officials that an open and competitive market will drive prices down and benefit our community.