The issue has been festering, as far as Qwest and other telecom companies that offer DSL are concerned, for at least two years.
Many cable companies -- which have about 60 percent of the market for residential high-speed Internet access -- have decided they are under no obligation to include DSL ads in the local commercials they sell on their systems.
But when Richard Notebaert, who took over as Qwest's chairman and chief executive last year, found out this month from his advertising team that Comcast wouldn't air Qwest's DSL ads, he "was shocked by it," spokesman Bill Myers said Tuesday.
Notebaert telephoned Comcast CEO Brian Roberts but got no response. He followed up with a letter saying that if the ad block "isn't illegal, it should be."
"By denying us access, you are blocking a customer's ability to learn about all the choices in the marketplace and to make an informed decision," Notebaert wrote in the letter, dated Monday and first disclosed by USA Today. "It smacks of censorship, and it's unfair to the millions of people you serve who don't have any other real choice for cable services."
Myers said Notebaert had yet to hear back from Roberts. Comcast spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick said Roberts was still reviewing the letter Tuesday.
Fitzpatrick largely dismissed Notebaert's complaints, saying that while "limits on competitive advertising are standard," Comcast does run some DSL ads, though he would not elaborate. He also noted that Qwest has plenty of avenues to reach consumers on and off TV.
Comcast offers service in 12 of the 14 Western and Midwestern states where Denver-based Qwest is the main local phone provider. Like other phone companies, Qwest needs DSL to be a bigger seller because its basic business is under attack from e-mail, wireless phones and other new technologies.
Although other cable companies also won't sell airtime for DSL ads, Myers said Qwest was targeting Philadelphia-based Comcast because of its role as the nation's largest cable company -- and largest broadband provider -- since its $29 billion acquisition of AT&T Broadband last year.
Consumer groups also have expressed fears about the unprecedented power Comcast holds to push its own Internet and entertainment offerings at the expense of competitors' content and services.
Similar worries were raised in 2001, when consumer groups complained to the Federal Trade Commission about Time Warner Cable's refusal to air DSL ads, saying the decision violated requirements for Time Warner's merger with America Online. The FTC declined to investigate.
Chris Murray, legislative counsel for Consumers Union, said that though it makes sense for a business not to want to advertise its rivals' products, cable companies in general ought to be subject to more regulations that reflect their power to control the flow of information.
Copyright 2003. Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
