Breaking news:

The Georgia Senate just voted 52-2 in favor of HB 227 the “Consumer Choice for Television Act.” The act becomes effective July 1, 2007.

from: Chattanooga Pulse

Civic Forum
Guard Your Local Cable Franchise Like It’s Your Remote - I want competition as much as the next guy, but not at this cost

by Joe Lance

April 11, 2007

I noticed the ads for “cable” first. Cable is great, they preened. I scratched my head, and flipped to a different cable channel. It’s not a new concept. So why the big advertising buy? Why now? Some time before I started seeing opposing spots, for “the new AT&T,” I read about legislation that would introduce the beautiful Tennessee countryside — all of it — to hi-speed internet. Hmm. Expand broadband access. Uncle Cable and Ms. Bell duel in the public square. Slowly, and with generous assistance from folks like R. Neal at KnoxViews.com, these ideas began to connect.

from: Bradenton Herald

Cable, phone spar in cat fight

By LYNDSEY LEWIS
Herald Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE - Three shadowy figures are popping up on TV screens all over Florida.

Decked out in suits, the figures burst on the screen without facial expressions, but they manage to appear ominous, just the same.

from: Save Texas Access

Report on San Antonio AT&T Proposal to Test U-Verse
Submitted by savetexasaccess on Wed, 2007-04-11 05:17.

Here is a copy of the San Antonio AT&T Proposed Agreement:
Public Education and Government (PEG) Programming Signal First Office Application Testing Agreement

from: Light Reading

Qwest's Quest for Video

APRIL 09, 2007

Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q - message board) was one of the first names in telco TV, but lately it's not the first name that comes to mind when the subject comes up.

While other big telcos are mounting scare campaigns against cable TV and attempting to woo Wall Street with their vision of the future, Qwest has taken a more contemplative approach. It hasn't broadly defined its video strategy. And the company says its watching the IPTV pioneers and will continue to experiment with several ways of delivering video services to its customers.

from: Telegram.com

Statewide cable franchising bad news

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

The current local cable franchise system doesn’t discourage competition or consumer choice. This 25-year-old system has worked well, and for many communities in eastern Massachusetts there has been competition between RCN and Comcast for some 10 years. Also, throughout all municipalities in the state there are two other competitors in the form of satellite TV providers — Dish Network and Direct TV. In many communities, Verizon is the fifth provider of multi-channel video services, as defined by the FCC.

from: Cup of Joe

Phone Company Wants It All, Promises Nothing

Monday, April 09, 2007

The lobbyist-sponsored cable franchise bill is bad for everyone and would be a massive benefit to only one group - the phone company. Hollow promises and the elimination of local control of land rights likewise benefits only the phone company. A bill which would negate all local control, HB1421/SB1933 is up for review again in committee meetings in the Senate and House and simply needs to be rejected, not delayed or deferred or handed off to a 'study group'.

from: save texas access

from the frontlines of the post-state-franchise apocalypse . . .

Report From San Antonio – AT&T Corporate Headquarters
April 10, 2007

The rubber has started to hit the road in San Antonio. More than two years after basically writing SB 5 – Texas’ statewide video franchise law that passed the Legislature in 2005 – AT&T is now interpreting that law for San Antonio city officials.

from: Ars Technica

Fight against new FCC video franchising rules heads to court

By Eric Bangeman | Published: April 10, 2007

A handful of local government groups are asking the courts to roll back the Federal Communication Commission's new video franchise rules. Formal Petitions for Review were filed before the US Courts of Appeal for the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Circuits, by the National Association of Counties, the Alliance for Community Media, National League of Cities, the National Association of Telecommunications Officials, and the US Conference of Mayors, among others.

from: CCTV

What You Can Do to Oppose the Verizon Bill

Last week, we wrote about a bill being considered on Beacon Hill that would change the way that cable franchising is done in the Commonwealth, You can read that story here http://www.cctvcambridge.org/node/1148.