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from: Nashville Post

Telecom secrets shape Connected Tennessee report

Michael Ramage
07-23-2007 2:08 PM —

Connected Tennessee — the organization called into being by Gov. Phil Bredesen and the General Assembly to strengthen the state's high-speed communications resources — will reveal the results of its study of confidential industry information this week.

The new data will be unveiled during a Friday meeting of the State Broadband Task Force, and is expected to influence heavily the outcome of next year's rematch battle over statewide video-franchise reform.

At the same time, the task force's continued work makes clear that when it comes to finding solutions for the least-developed rural areas of the state, Task Force Co-Chairs Sen. Roy Herron and Rep. Mark Maddox, both Democrats from Dresden, won't pin their hopes solely on the outcome of franchise reform.

In that regard, they have reason not to be overly optimistic: Earlier this year, months of skirmishing pitted lobbyists for AT&T, the cable industry and local governments against one another, in a battle that ultimately ground to a halt.

Connected Tennessee, as a neutral party, has since been able to gather crucial proprietary business information from AT&T, Comcast and others that the companies were previously reluctant to entrust to other groups.

This week's task force meeting may take on added significance, in that House Commerce Committee Chairman Charles Curtiss (D-Sparta) has put on hold earlier plans to convene a summertime study committee on video-franchise reform. The aim was to avert an imbroglio such as the one that threatened to overwhelm the recent legislative session.

Connected Tennessee Executive Director Michael Ramage and Connected Nation Vice President-Research Laura Taylor are the sole scheduled presenters for Friday's broadband meeting.

Following this week's meeting, Connected Tennessee is expected to design and launch marketing programs to stimulate business and consumer demand for telecomputing services, in order to attract corporate investment in lagging communities.

To support its efforts, Connected Tennessee expects to receive grants totaling $7.5 million during the next three years from the state, via the department of economic and community development. Ramage told NashvillePost.com in a recent interview that believes his Tennessee staff will reach a dozen, with roughly seven posts having already been filled.