Save Access

from: Houston Chronicle

May 24, 2007, 8:44PM
A crisis at public access TV
By LISA FALKENBERG

Half-hour from downtown, turtles float, alligators sun and birds bathe in Armand Bayou.

Houston has the most successful Crime Stoppers in the world, helping solve 1,152 cases last year.

from: Post Crescent

Video franchising a front-yard issue
Grand Chute leader wary of AT&T's roadside cabinets

By Ed Lowe
Post-Crescent staff writer
Posted May 27, 2007

GRAND CHUTE — Town Administrator Mark Rohloff concedes the state battle over the so-called video competition act won’t be decided by concerns about neighborhood aesthetics.

from: Lafayette ProFiber

Just Not True: Cable Rates Not Falling in Texas

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Here's something to think about:

Competition has not led to lower basic cable-rates in Texas. (MultiChannel News)

That's the long and the short of it according to a study by the Texas chapter of NATOA.

from: Eagle-Tribune

Counterpoint: Local control means better cable service

Eleanor L. Pye

In early June, Massachusetts Senate bill 1975 will be voted on to determine whether cable franchising will be negotiated at a state level or remain at the local level. The text of the bill begins, "An act promoting consumer choice and competition for cable service." This statement, and the subsequent bill, could not be further from the truth.

from: Eagle Tribune

Point: Cable competition means lower prices
Eagle-Tribune

Jack T. Yunits

The video franchise reform legislation now before the Massachusetts Legislature could power one of the greatest economic engines our state has seen in a long time. By streamlining the cable franchising process created 30 years ago, Massachusetts can finally introduce genuine cable competition, and welcome the myriad benefits of a growing broadband economy. The cable companies are understandably opposed to the bill - their monopolies will be forced to compete for now-captive customers, after all.

from: MultiChannel News

Reform Off Table in Tennessee

By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 5/28/2007

Citing opposition from local governments, the sponsor of a bill to reform cable franchising in Tennessee has withdrawn the legislation for the session.

The bill could be resubmitted next year, but sponsor Rep. Steve McDaniel (R-Parkers Crossroads) told the Associated Press that he wouldn't push the issue of reform unless he sensed a “change of attitude” by city and local officials who fought the bill. Cable incumbents had formed a coalition with the local governments to fight the bill.

from: PEG Clippings

AT&T:0 - Public Interest:1
Three Cheers for the Volunteer State!

Yesterday the push for establishing statewide video franchising in Tennessee failed - at least for the 2007 legislative session. Here are excerpts from some of the major press accounts, and links to a few of the others. The credit seems mostly due to the individual and collective work of local municipal officials. Thanks to ACM members Frank Bluestein (Germantown), Alan Bozeman (Murfreesboro), Elliott Mitchell (Nashville), and Dave Vogel (Knoxville) for their good work helping to man the barricades and repel the assault. - rm

Note: Texas was the first state video franchise to pass and was touted by the industry and politicians as legislation that would save consumers money in cable TV subscriptions. The public interest community has always discredited this misinformation - now it seems the industry press is finally looking closer too.

from: MultiChannel News

No Texas-Sized Rate Declines in Texas
NATOA’s Texas Chapter Finds that Video-Subscription Rates Have Actually Risen

By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 5/24/2007

Basic-cable rates have not declined in any of the Texas communities where there are competitive providers, according to a survey done by the Texas chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.

from: Free Press
Don't let AT&T buy Ohio! Save Free Speech! Save Public Access Television!

from: PC World

IPTV Spread Could Be Slowed by Class Issues
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Posted by Mark Sullivan

IPTV is slowly making its way to a neighborhood near you, but not without some significant red-tape snags along the way. Two of the nation's biggest phone companies, AT&T and Qwest, have recently suffered setbacks in obtaining the franchise agreements they need to roll out IPTV service in new markets. In both cases, lawmakers cited concerns that the companies intend to "cherry-pick," or offer IPTV to only the most affluent neighborhoods in town.