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from: Chicago Business

Madigan enters cable-TV fray
AT&T would challenge Comcast's dominance

Attorney General Lisa Madigan is brokering a deal that could quickly end Comcast Corp.'s near monopoly on cable television in Illinois.

State Rep. James Brosnahan, D-Oak Lawn, has sponsored a bill, originally pushed by phone giant AT&T Inc., to end a law requiring individual cable TV licenses for each municipality. As a result, Illinois would grant licenses at the state level, leaving AT&T with just one regulatory hurdle to clear before it could roll out an Internet-based TV service to compete with Comcast.

Ms. Madigan's office, after seeking input from municipalities and other interests, has drafted a new version of the bill to add consumer safeguards. The move increases the chances the bill will pass.

"We may not have everyone in agreement, but it will be a better bill," says Rep. Brosnahan, chairman of the House Telecommunications Committee, which could vote on the bill as early as this week.

It's unclear whether Comcast would sign off on any compromise.

Comcast and AT&T have poured millions of dollars in advertising and campaign contributions into the battle over the bill. Early on, AT&T probably had the upper hand over politically unpopular Comcast, but Ms. Madigan, local municipalities and consumer groups were concerned that language in the legislation didn't address consumer protection and competition issues.