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The Nashville Post

Naifeh on cable-AT&T battle
Nashville Post
Ken Whitehouse
02/04/08

Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Jimmy Naifeh was joined by two Republican colleagues in his office to guarantee to the media that "there will be a bill brought before the state legislature" in the ongoing battle of AT&T vs. Cable.

Last week, Gov. Phil Bredesen told the media he didn't think that Naifeh's approach to resolving the dispute between the factions would be successful, and that he, himself, might become involved.

Naifeh, along with State Sen. Bill Ketron (R), State Reps. Steve McDaniel (R), Charles Curtiss (D), Randy Rinks (D), and State Comptroller John Morgan, today "respectfully disagreed" with Bredesen's assessment and invited him and/or his legislative liason Pat Miller to join the discussions. Miller was a member of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, which has oversight of telecommunications - but not cable franchising - until he left to join Bredesen's staff.

"Competition is what can make this particular item work," Naifeh told reporters. He said he doubts that either AT&T or cable companies would like the legislation in the end, which in his view would mean "it's a good bill for Tennesseans." He also said that over the course of the past six weeks, representatives from both sides have been meeting with legislators to come up with a bill that is "good for all Tennesseans."

Today's declaration of persistence not only underscores continuing tensions, but in the eyes of many observers makes all but certain that there will be a pro-consumer bill on statewide franchising this year, whether or not it pleases the corporate stakeholders.

When asked how the talks are going, Naifeh said neither side is being allowed to draw a line in the sand and that they have not brought in their corporate attorneys to "discuss red-lining and build out." After these issues are resolved, Naifeh said that the Tennessee Municipal League and local governments will be brought into make sure their concerns are reflected in the final bill.

Ketron echoed Naifeh's comments and said that the goal is to bring broadband to rural areas so those communities can create jobs that connect to the world. "We are going to come out with a good bill and the Senate will be prepared to move forward," said Ketron, adding, "we need to connect places like Maury County to Japan, Korea, China even South America. The world is getting smaller."

Neither Naifeh, Ketron or the others legislators present would put a timeline on when they expect the negotiations between AT&T and Cable to be complete, but they vowed their "mission is to take care of all Tennesseans."