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from: Technology Daily

Revised Franchising Proposal Woos Missouri's Cable Industry

By Michael Martinez

(Monday, January 29) The video-franchising debate has returned to Missouri, and a key player has switched sides.

Almost a year after killing his own bill on the issue, state Sen. John Griesheimer has introduced legislation to allow for streamlined entry into the Show-Me State video services market. He authored a similar measure last year that appeared to be on the fast track for the governor's desk before it died in the spring.

But this time Griesheimer already has won over the chief opponent of last year's bill: the state's dominant cable providers. Competing telephone firms looking to offer new video services have been seeking franchising reform measures on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures. Existing cable firms have typically defended their home turf by objecting to proposals allowing new entrants to obtain statewide deals and to bypass disparate local franchise rules.

Cable firms in Missouri have embraced Griesheimer's latest proposal, S.B. 284, because it would let them abrogate their existing contracts to also seek statewide deals.

Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association Executive Director Greg Harrison told AP earlier this month that Griesheimer's revised proposal "provides a level playing field for all video service providers in the state of Missouri."

With the cable industry on board, the main opposition to Griesheimer's proposal now is comprised of various municipal groups, including the Missouri Municipal League. The league has argued that streamlining franchising rules with a statewide law would undercut the authority of localities. It also has expressed concern about whether the bill does enough to guarantee that video providers will not "cherry pick" by only operating in the state's wealthy neighborhoods.

In a white paper written for the league last year, Kansas City assistant attorney William Geary said it would be dangerous to trust private firms to expand into rural and low-income areas. "Understanding the goals of each and the needs of each will go a long way toward that time," he wrote. "When its businesses are healthy cities can thrive. Finding the balance is the key."

A flurry of video-franchising measures has been signed into law during the past two years. About a dozen states, including California, Indiana, Michigan and Texas, now allow providers to apply for statewide deals. Similar bills already have been floated in Massachusetts and Tennessee this year, and more are likely to come.

The FCC last month issued an order that would speed franchising negotiations in all 50 states. Under the order, localities must review franchise applications within 90 days.

Several lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., already have voiced severe concerns about the FCC order. An aide to Markey, who heads the Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, said at a conference last week that he expects the order will be challenged in court and that many of the order's provisions usurp congressional authority.

All five FCC commissioners are slated to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday at a hearing on the state of the communications marketplace.