BPL Company -"Current Comm. had accused AT&T of trying to stifle competition"

AT&T battles TXU partner
Firms clash over plans to use power lines for broadband

11:56 PM CST on Friday, November 3, 2006
By CRAYTON HARRISON / The Dallas Morning News

The company installing broadband Internet technology along TXU Corp.'s power lines may have to temporarily stop some of its work under a Friday court order sought by AT&T Inc.

The temporary restraining order, issued Friday afternoon in state District Court in Dallas County, was the latest action in an escalating dispute between AT&T and the TXU partner, Current Communications Group Inc.

Earlier Friday, Current had accused AT&T of trying to stifle competition. The company wants to build the network to offer a new kind of broadband Internet to about 2 million Texas energy customers.

AT&T also offers broadband Internet service over its phone lines.

But AT&T says it's just trying to protect its workers from a safety hazard on utility poles.

The dispute could affect the plans of Current and of TXU's Electric Delivery unit, which wants to use Current's technology to help it ward off power failures.

In a filing Friday, Current asked the Texas Public Utility Commission to rule on the matter. AT&T, in turn, filed suit, saying it needed to stop Current from creating what it called safety risks.

At the heart of the issue is a technical debate about where Current can put equipment on utility poles. AT&T, which owns some of the poles that carry TXU power lines, says Current is installing equipment too close to areas where AT&T employees have to work.

"AT&T pledges to fight for both competition and public safety," AT&T Texas president James Epperson said Friday in a written statement.

Current, on the other hand, says its equipment is in a safe area, citing standards developed by an international engineering group.

"If AT&T were to act on its threats and begin removing Current's attachments, Current would be unable to install and operate" a broadband network on TXU's electric lines, Current said in its petition Friday to the PUC.

A Current spokeswoman said she was unsure how the company would interpret Friday's court action, which ordered Current to stop installing its equipment on poles owned by AT&T, unless the installation complied with an agreement between the two companies.

TXU and Current announced their plans for the broadband Internet service late last year. Privately held Current, based in Maryland, is paying for the enhancements to the grid. TXU is paying Current $150 million over 10 years and bought a small, undisclosed stake in the company in May.

Current is still on track to begin providing service on the network by the end of this year, company spokeswoman Melissa Kresse said.



Source: Dallas Morning News