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from: Potomac News

Taking a Hammer to Comcast

Shaw was arrested for disorderly conduct after she took a hammer to several items in the office — all the while saying, “Have I got your attention now?”
From Potomac News, October 5, 2007

from: Fierce IPTV

Connecticut Franchise Battle Continues

October 9, 2007

The attorney general in Connecticut is not backing down in his quest to make sure AT&T’s U-verse is subject to the same requirements as cable TV operations. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s latest volley is a public request that AT&T’s franchise application be rejected, which seems counterintuitive on its face. Blumenthal fought to make AT&T obtain a franchise license from the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control in August. The PUC was all about letting AT&T slide, but a federal judge suggested otherwise.

from: IP Business

20 Years of Competition: Nobody Beats the Bells

By Gary Kim

After more than 20 years of steadily-increasing competition in the U.S. communications market, one trend is clear: though many things have changed, incumbents continue to dominate the business. Despite line losses, leading U.S. telcos have managed to keep revenue growing. And momentum in the U.S. VoIP industry has swung decidedly to the U.S. cable industry.

from: IP Business

20 Years of Competition: Nobody Beats the Bells

By Gary Kim

After more than 20 years of steadily-increasing competition in the U.S. communications market, one trend is clear: though many things have changed, incumbents continue to dominate the business. Despite line losses, leading U.S. telcos have managed to keep revenue growing. And momentum in the U.S. VoIP industry has swung decidedly to the U.S. cable industry.

from: Multichannel News

Iowa Judge Nixes New Fees

(Multichannel News) _ A Polk County, Iowa, judge has struck down a portion of the state's newly minted state franchising bill, asserting that a clause retroactively allowing cities to collect franchise fees in excess of the actual cost of regulation is unconstitutional.

from: Broadcasting and Cable

The Buddy System
Broadcasting & Cable, 10/8/2007

By Staff

A disturbing Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released last week said that some lobbyists were tipped by FCC staffers about what items would be voted on at upcoming meetings.

from: Gresham Outlook

Community television weakened by FCC
By Rob Brading
Oct 5, 2007

When Congress didn’t enact telecommunications legislation in late 2006, local governments and advocates of media that’s less concentrated, more diverse and more local breathed a sigh of relief. Less than a year later, those same folks are wondering if they should have paid more heed to the old adage about being careful what you wish for.

Note: In states where state video franchises have passed or are pending, many cable companies have stalled or refused to honor existing local franchise agreements. This results in access centers losing anticipated operating revenue and having to resort to court battles, a reduction in services or closure.

from: Columbian Missourian

from: Broadcasting and Cable

Cities Weigh In Against Franchise Changes
Battle Over Regulating Local Franchise Authories Brews

by John Eggerton
10/5/2007 11:18:00 AM

"An order federalizing the franchising process cannot stand."

That was essentially the message from the Alliance for Community Media, which represents a number of localities -- including the cities of Los Angeles; Chicago; Boston; Tampa, Fla.; and Milwaukee and the New York villages of Larchmont and Mamaroneck -- in their court challenge to Federal Communications Commissioin changes to video-franchise rules.

from: Consumers Affairs

Google Challenges Verizon Over Lobbying Of FCC
Rollback of "open access" requirements faulted

by Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.Com

October 5, 2007

Google has accused Verizon Wireless of violating Federal Communications Commission rules in its lobbying efforts to roll back the FCC's recent ruling on the wireless spectrum auction.