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from: Eldo Telecom

Telecom association chief's assertions at odds with reality

Thursday, May 17, 2007

United States Telecom Association President and CEO Walter B. McCormick Jr. filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission this week that contained two key myths of telco propaganda when it comes to broadband deployment in the U.S: 1) that competition is speeding broadband deployment and 2) that telcos are investing in broadband deployments in less densely populated areas of the U.S.

from: Ars Technica

House Dems: Broadband isn't broadband unless it's 2Mbps

By Nate Anderson
| Published: May 17, 2007 - 11:25PM CT

from: Eldo Telecom

Thursday, May 17, 2007
Protecting the telco/cable duopoly

This story out of New York state shows that telcos (in this case, Verizon) can offer broadband-based Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) in without legislation the telcos are seeking in the Empire State to put the state in charge of issuing so-called "video franchises" In this case, Multichannel News reports, the towns of West Haverstraw and North Castle Verizon's applications to provide IPTV over its propriety fiber optic FiOS infrastructure.

Note: This regulatory positioning of the NCTA represents big fights ahead for public interest obligations.

from: TV Technology

Cable Chief Calls for Dereg Excepting Interconnects

May 17, 2007

Cable lobby chief Kyle McSlarrow headlined a recent Media Institute luncheon where he riffed on silos. He said cylindrical storage structures were an outdated model for a regulatory regime.

Note: We think hell is big enough for both the cable industry and the telephone industry.

from: Nashville Post

Cable industry should 'rot in Hell', says AT&T supporter

Luke Froeb
05-18-2007 2:06 PM

UPDATED 5:08 P.M.: U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson Gina Talamona confirmed late this afternoon that Assistant Attorney General Barnett recently wrote to members of the Tennessee General Assembly to express views consistent with the Wisconsin letter cited in this story. Details were not immediately available. Talamona said that in keeping with DoJ's "competition-advocacy role," Barnett's communications stress concerns about barriers to competition, and are generally silent on remedial actions that might have been undertaken by the FCC and other agencies.

from: NY Sun

Slow Going on Push for Fast Internet Service

BY JILL GARDINER - Staff Reporter of the Sun
May 18, 2007

New Yorkers who are anxiously awaiting the day when they can switch cable television providers and sign up for new super-high-speed Internet service will need to sit tight.

While the city is now in the "final stages" of negotiations with the telecommunications giant Verizon over a cable franchise that would break up the Time Warner and Cablevision duopoly, it could take years before the majority of New York City residents can get Verizon's new FiOS fiber-optic network in their homes.

from: MultiChannel News

Franchise Battles Persist

'Pigs’ Cited in Tenn.; DOJ Weighs In On Wisconsin Debate

By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 5/21/2007

Battles to reform video franchising rules in several states remain pitched, with strategies ranging from statesmanlike negotiations between all stakeholders to the distribution of plastic pigs on the steps of the Tennessee Capitol.

from: SavetheInternet

When Astroturf Calls

May 18, 2007

Companies fighting the drive to make Net Neutrality the online law of the land are back with more shady tactics designed to confuse the public over the issue.

Media Minutes reports today that people in Oregon are receiving automated telemarketing calls urging them “to call Senator Gordon Smith to oppose any congressional intervention into the Net Neutrality debate.”

The Florida Video Franchise Bill was signed into law by Gov. Crist on Friday May 19th.

from: St. Petersburg Times

Florida Cable Bill Supported by Groups Getting Telco Money

May 18, 2007

My friend Mike Twomey, a Tallahassee lawyer who frequently represents customers in cases against Florida utility companies, writes to argue that the advantages of the cable-TV bill (House Bill 529, the subject of my print column today) outweigh the disadvantages. Specifically, he points out the bill gets rid of the last round of those local telephone rate increases, while increasing access to the Lifeline program that provides phone service to those who need a little help.

from: Knoxville News Sentinel

Is Tennessee Ready for AT&T to Enter Cable Market?

May 18, 2007

A bill making its way through the Legislature would allow communications giant AT&T to enter the cable television market in Tennessee under the argument that increased competition will result in reduced prices and better service.