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Long Story Short: The 2006 Rewrite of U.S. Communications Policy

By Lauren-Glenn Davitian,
Center for Media & Democracy (VT)
davitian@cctv.org

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a National Video Franchising bill on June 8th 2006. This bill, known as COPE—the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006 (H5252)—permits the telephone companies to get quickly into the cable TV business by sidestepping local government approval (franchises) in favor of national service approval from the FCC. The Senate will by Senator Ted Stevens – R/ Alaska, raises many of the same public interest concerns in COPE. By moving into the video business the phone companies will control both access to networks and content, much like the cable companies do today. If allowed to do so under the conditions proposed in these bills, there are serious questions about the future of open networks and prospects for real competition on the Internet (a/k/a net neutrality). Other areas of concern include: local management of the public rights of way, the redlining low income and rural communities and long term protections for public, educational and government access media.

from: New Networks Teletruth

Teletruth News Analysis: June 13, 2006
Verizon's FiOS, AT&T's Lightspeed - The Rise of the Crippled Networks.

Dear Senate: Investigate this:

America is 16th in broadband and basing our Nation's future on inferior products that may never show up will be bad for our economic growth and technological edge. More importantly - We already paid over $200 billion in excess fees? What happened to the money and our promised fiber optic future?.

from: The Hill

Telecom group spends big to raise industry profile

By Jim Snyder

The lobbying expenditures of the U.S. Telecom Association (USTA) have risen almost as fast as the TVs that soar through roofs in the group’s ubiquitous ad campaign.

Five years ago, USTA spent just over $2 million on lobbying. By last year that figure had risen to nearly $17 million, making the group the sixth biggest spender on K Street and a major contributor to a revival of telecom and high-tech lobbying.

Note: Even if HR5252 and S2686 are delayed this Congressional session, the Telcos are succeeding in getting what they want at the state level.

From: Technology Daily

States Taking The Lead On Telecom Law Overhaul

By Michael Martinez

(Monday, June 5) State lawmakers have not waited on their federal counterparts this year for legislation to overhaul existing telecommunications statutes.

from: Multichannel news

Esser Sermonizes on Franchise Reform
By Karen Brown6/6/2006 5:58:00 PM

Chicago -- Cox Communications Inc. president Pat Esser turned his podium into a pulpit at the Globalcomm telecom convention here Tuesday, delivering a stern sermonlike keynote accusing Bell competitors of trying to gain a regulatory free pass into video to make up for their own delays in developing those services.

Interesting details of the emerging IPTV technologies and the differences between AT&T and Verizon applications. It's unfortunate that the delivery of these technical advances are predicated on public interest sacrifices.

from: ZD Net

IPTV prepares for prime time

By Marguerite Reardon

Telco TV boxes may be coming to a sidewalk near you - and there is likely nothing you will be able to do about it! The loss of local control of 'right of way' under new state video franchising laws means that your local city will have to yield control of public spaces to telephone and cable companies operating under those franchises.

From: Digital Destiny

Hey! Guess Who Helps Fund the Heritage Foundation? AT&T and Verizon

Ready as always to weaken the public interest potential of U.S. communications, James L. Gattuso wrote a anti-network neutrality “Backgrounder” for the Heritage Foundation (released June 2, 2006). Subtitled “Will Congress Neuter the Net?”, the piece is a politically timed missive designed to undermine the growing pressure on Congress to enact network neutrality safeguards. It contains the usual litany of rationalizations and under-developed analysis used by big cable and phone advocates to criticize network neutrality.

Note: Unlike AT&T and Verizon, RCN has not used pressure techniques to acquire favorable state and national franchises. Instead they compete directly with cable companies by offering improved service and infrastructure.

from: Washington Post

Taking On Telecom Goliaths

from: CNET

Made for TV: A Tale of Two Telcos
Verizon and AT&T take divergent technical paths
By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/5/2006

In this story:
SIMULTANEOUS TRANSMISSION

Over the next two years, two phone giants—Verizon and AT&T—will spend more than $10 billion to present TV packages that rival all the latest digital services offered by cable operators today.