Court Nixes Cable Apartment Exclusives By Mark Fleischmann May 28, 2009 — Do you live in an apartment building served by cable? If so, you're probably resigned to your local cable operator having a monopoly. But the U.S. Court of Appeals says that's not the way it has to be.

The Federal Communications Commission banned cable monopolies in a 2007 ruling, partly to speed penetration by telcos like AT&T and Verizon as they entered the TV-delivery business, and to encourage the expansion of triple-play service packages (TV, phone, internet). The National Cable & Telecommunications Commission and other groups sued, questioning the FCC's authority. But the appeals court in Washington DC sided with the FCC, effectively outlawing local cable monopolies—unless the cable industry appeals.

See ArsTechnica.