Just three days after cutting a $67 billion deal to buy BellSouth last week, AT&T Chairman Ed Whitacre got a precious gift from Washington. Key Congressional leaders agreed to allow the giant phone companies a national franchise license, essentially allowing AT&T and other telcos a painless entry into the cable industry's core business of video services. Cable operators howled. "This is a huge step backwards," wailed Kyle McSlarrow, head of the National Cable Telecommunication Association. If the proposed bill passes, he said, the government would be "giving the Bell monopolies a special break and a deregulatory advantage over their competitors."
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