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from: Iowa Politics

Rep. Wise: Urges Iowa Utility Board to move quickly for cable TV competition
9/20/2007

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Rep. Phil Wise 319-795-0514

The inability of Mediacom and the Big Ten Network to reach an agreement to provide University of Iowa programming in Mediacom’s basic cable package is a prime example of why cable television needs competition in Iowa.

“The lack of competition in the cable industry in Iowa is a major reason this impasse has occurred,” said Wise. “When Mediacom, the state’s largest cable television provider, refuses to include programming that 62 other Iowa cable providers have agreed to carry, Mediacom’s cable television subscribers are not receiving the benefits of competition.”

Representative Phil Wise (D-Keokuk) led the effort in the Iowa House of Representatives to pass legislation that would bring new competition to a monopoly industry and drive down consumer costs.

“Choice is important for consumers and important for competition,” said Wise. “The current Mediacom dispute leaves hundreds of thousands of Iowans with no recourse if they want the University of Iowa programming on the Big Ten Network. Even though we passed legislation this year to help consumers have choices in their cable provider, this dispute makes it imperative that the Iowa Utility Board move quickly to allow competitors to enter the local cable business.”

The new law allows the Iowa Utility Board to grant franchises to offer cable television service. The law includes provisions to ensure a level playing field for new cable competitors. The IUB is currently drafting rules to implement the new law. Wise is Vice-Chairperson of the Administrative Rules Review Committee, a statutory committee that oversees rules developed by the executive branch of government.

Under the state’s previous cable television system, franchises are granted by local governments. Under the old rules, cable TV providers are granted a license to provide service in a community in exchange for a franchise fee to the local government.

As many as 10 other states have injected competition into the cable franchise through similar legislation.