My car is paid for, but I'm not obligated to car-pool, rent it out, time-share it, or even let a friend ride in it.
You were never given an exclusive right to buy a car in your area. You also were never given the right to park on a strip of your neighbor's yard (whether your neighbor liked it or not). The cable companies ALL were given a very valueable exclusive right to provide cable in their area. And the right to dig up anyone's front yard without notice or consent. That considerably reduced their risk (as a captive audience always does).
If you doubt the value of those grants, consider how expensive (and difficult) it would be for you to purchase the right to dig up your neighbor's front yard at any time you needed to and multiply by ONE MILLION.
Being required to lease their cables to others is NOT a very high price to pay for all of that.
Re: equal access terms (Score:3)
My car is paid for, but I'm not obligated to car-pool, rent it out, time-share it, or even let a friend ride in it.
You were never given an exclusive right to buy a car in your area. You also were never given the right to park on a strip of your neighbor's yard (whether your neighbor liked it or not). The cable companies ALL were given a very valueable exclusive right to provide cable in their area. And the right to dig up anyone's front yard without notice or consent. That considerably reduced their risk (as a captive audience always does).
If you doubt the value of those grants, consider how expensive (and difficult) it would be for you to purchase the right to dig up your neighbor's front yard at any time you needed to and multiply by ONE MILLION.
Being required to lease their cables to others is NOT a very high price to pay for all of that.