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from: Braintree Forum

Views differ on cable franchise negotiations

By Robert Aicardi
GateHouse Media
Wed May 02, 2007, 04:22 PM EDT

Saying that he knows first hand how important local franchise negotiations are to a community, Michael Modestino, a former cable advisory committee chairman, believes that Verizon is attempting to bypass this process and avoid having to deal with communities where they wish to offer cable television services.

The Florida bill de-funds and effectively ends PEG channel and facility support. The poor build-out and anti-red-lining provisions ensure that many communities will be left out and under-served. The telcos direct many of their lobby dollars and donations to minority organizations, as a result, the legislators below voted for a bill that will silence and disenfranchise their constituents - very sad.

from: Broadcasting & Cable

Armey Claims Florida Franchise Victory
By The Associated Press

(Broadcasting & Cable) _ Freedomworks, a lobby for smaller government and lower taxes backed by Forbes CEO Steve Forbes, is praising the Florida legislature for passing the Consumer Choice Act 117-2 this week, and giving itself a pat on the back too.

from: Information Week

Big Apple Weighs In on Net Neutrality
From Information Week, April 30, 2007
By K.C. Jones

New York City will vote on a resolution urging Congress to pass network neutrality legislation.

City Council member Gale Brewer, a Manhattan Democrat, held a hearing Monday on the resolution, which she introduced.

from: Dee Dee Halleck

Rights of Way Give Away
Monday, April 30, 2007

Georgia has just passed in both houses a bill which virtually eliminates local control of public rights of way. The telecom giants have been pushing this hard. One rep counted 47 lobbyists from ATT who had been pursuing her.

from: Multichannel News

Why Cable Should Want Net Neutrality

By Art Brodsky, Public Knowledge 4/30/2007

Think of network neutrality as the mirror image of a traditional cable system. In a cable system, the operator alone (must-carry requirements aside for the moment) decides which programming services will be offered and which channel position they will occupy. Even in an a la carte universe, the subscriber can only pick from the choices on the menu.

from: Multichannel News

Franchise Bills Dominate State Debates
But Cable Groups Target VoIP Rules, Pole Fees Too

By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 4/30/2007

For the second consecutive year, franchise-reform bills continue to nearly monopolize the time and lobbying muscle of the state cable trade associations. But a few of those groups are also trying to be proactive, addressing such problems as the soaring pole-attachment rates charged by in-state telephone providers.

from: Information Week

Big Apple Weighs In on Net Neutrality

From Information Week, April 30, 2007
By K.C. Jones

New York City will vote on a resolution urging Congress to pass network neutrality legislation.

City Council member Gale Brewer, a Manhattan Democrat, held a hearing Monday on the resolution, which she introduced. Those testifying in support of the net neutrality resolution include Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, who submitted written comments; Timothy Karr, campaign director for Free Press; Timothy Wu, the Columbia University Law School professor who coined the phrase “net neutrality”; and Henning Schulzrinne, chairman of Columbia’s computer science department.

from: Multichannel News

Wisconsin Video Franchise Bill Includes DBS

April 30, 2007

The Wisconsin State Assembly tentatively approved a state franchising bill that contains a clause that will include direct-broadcast satellite providers under the state’s customer-service rules.

The Assembly vote was Apr

from: Broadcasting and Cable

New York City Council Considers Net Neutrality Resolution

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/30/2007 11:52:00 AM

The New York City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on a resolution backing network neutrality.

Randolph May, head of the Potomac, Md.-based free market think tank The Free State Foundation, was scheduled to testify against the resolution, which would encourage the Congress to codify strong net neutrality principles.