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from: Chattanooga Times Free Press

Signal Council opposes video franchise bill

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

By Mike O’Neal Staff Writer

The Signal Mountain Town Council unanimously passed Monday night a resolution opposing a statewide video franchising bill now before the state legislature.

Mayor Paul Hendricks said AT&T is lobbying for passage of the Competitive Cable and Video Service Act (SB1933/ HB1421) now being considered by the Tennessee General Assembly.

However, the Tennessee Municipal League has advised its members to oppose the bill. Chattanooga and Soddy-Daisy also have passed resolutions against the AT&T-backed legislation.

Councilman Bill Lusk said service providers currently must negotiate a fee, payable to local governments, that allows them to offer their product or service. If passed, the proposal in its current form would shift negotiations from local to state control, he said.

“The AT&T franchise request puts us at a disadvantage,” Mr. Lusk said.

The town now collects $105,000 a year from Comcast for its cable TV franchise, officials said.

“There is a disinformation campaign being presented by AT&T,” Mr. Lusk said. “There are no guarantees that AT&T would reduce rates to customers while providing better service.”

Dr. Hendricks said AT&T “could come to us and negotiate right now — like Comcast” and that his desire is that all service providers operate with a level playing field.