Save Access

from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Cable TV Legislation Doesn’t Serve Consumers

November 7, 2007
By Cynthia J. Laitman

The state Senate today will be asked to vote on a bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Phil Montgomery (R-Ashwaubenon) and Sen. Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee), that would drastically reduce Wisconsin’s control over our cable and broadband infrastructure.

AT&T and its industry allies have spent millions of dollars in our state promoting this bill as a “competition” and “jobs creation” bill that will lower consumer prices. That isn’t true.

In other states such as Texas and Virginia, where the same bill was passed, consumer prices actually have increased — and at a faster pace than before bill passage. Further, the Wisconsin bill guarantees that AT&T and other cable providers would never have to compete because the bill says these companies don’t have to expand their current service areas.

So people in Wisconsin who don’t have competition now would be unlikely to have competition after passage of the bill. And no expansion means no new build-out, which means no new jobs.

Worse yet, this bill awards franchises forever to any entity that applies for one. And it would prohibit the state from evaluating a franchise applicant’s qualifications. Nor could the state object if the franchisee decides in the future to sell its franchise, no matter who or what or where in the world the new owner might be.

The bad news continues. Under the pending bill, Wisconsin’s cities, towns and villages would lose all say over what happens to cable and Internet service in their communities and would be at the mercy of private corporations that would have no loyalty to our state and whose only motive would be to make as much money as possible. This is not a recipe for competition and lower costs.

Next, the bill would eliminate dedicated funding for public access, education and local government channels — a sucker punch to commercial-free, independent, locally produced media in Wisconsin.

Finally, this is a tax increase bill. According to the state Department of Revenue, if SB 107/AB 207 becomes law, cities and towns throughout Wisconsin would lose millions of dollars annually, necessitating local property tax increases just to maintain the status quo.

In sum, given no competition, no new jobs, higher prices, loss of local and state control, crippling public access channels and increasing local property taxes, the bill would seriously harm our state, our local businesses and our residents.

Wisconsin’s cable and Internet future is key to a robust economy in the 21st century. We simply cannot afford to relinquish all control and public accountability over our broadband system, as the Montgomery-Plale bill would require.

If you think that the state Legislature should put the public interest before private corporate profit, call your state senator and urge a “no” vote on the cable bill.

Then, insist on legislation that will protect and promote the best interests of everyone in our state, instead of this bill, which serves only the bottom line of the industry that is pushing so hard for its passage.

Cynthia J Laitman is director of TeleTruth Wisconsin, an alliance of statewide public interest groups focused on broadband and telecommunications public policy in Wisconsin.