From what we can tell, this is nothing more than a reasonable disagreement among reasonable people.

Despite the best efforts of the F.C.C. to create competition, after the bubble burst, there weren't any competitive alternative to the Bells. Now that the cable operators are able to offer voice service to complement their high-speed data, commercial services are a cherry waiting to be picked.

The phone companies are in the awkward position of initiating a service in an already mature market with a disadvantaged cost structure, ... And on top of that, they have to offer the service at a discounted price just to compete. It's a hard strategy to sustain long-term.

Cablevision is now definitely taking back share from satellite TV.

Both of them are playing a game of brinksmanship, ... The risk both run is regulatory intervention, which neither wants. But this is a complicated issue that defies the simplistic analysis.

This looks to be a pretty attractive price and it underscores a cable market theme: in the last year, the private equity markets continue to value cable much more highly than the public equity markets,