access to the pipes is becoming ubiquitous...the telcos don't hold all the cards as they used to. Media companies can replace them...and are. Comcast is NOT a telco. AOL/Time Warner is NOT a telco. Between them they provide quite a bit of access. They rely on the big boys for the backbone. Even >that< isn't as much a barrier to entry as it used to be.
Many here are thinking about the development of the net as it was. That is not where it is going...the players are blurring the lines between content and access...and that will continue. Net neutrality is absolutely critical to this natural evolution process.
Of course...this is my opinion. I don't think I would have held the same opinion without the last 12 months of employment in the telecom biz, though. We get alot of "futurespeak" guys to come in...and one of them gave a presentation on the convergence of players in net space...it was eye-opening.