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from: The Morning journal

06/26/2007
Gov. Strickland signs lower cost cable bill
MEGAN KING , Morning Journal Writer

LORAIN -- The cable bill that local officials fear will jeopardize their cable franchise fees was signed into law yesterday by Gov. Ted Strickland.

from: Times Free Press

AT&T gearing up for video service in Georgia
Thursday, June 21, 2007, at 3:36 p.m.
By Matt Wilson
Staff Writer

An AT&T spokesman said his company is developing plans to offer video service that competes with cable in Georgia.

A new state law that will allow providers to negotiate state-issued franchises is about to go into effect.

Note: Apparently Qwest feels telling cities where they plan to provide service is a violation of their corporate privacy. We feel such information is essential to preventing the red-lining of portions of communities in addition to allowing the municpalities to best manage the protection of public rights of way.

from: MultiChannel News

Note: It's amazing how shortsighted a 200 billion dollar corporatiom can be - but then again AT&T was once the largest cable TV company before selling it's broadband assets at a 50 billion dollar loss.

from: Reuters

AT&T sticks to copper and fiber in build-out plan

from: MidWest Business.com

Illinois Senate Unanimously Passes Video Franchise Reform

6/21/2007
CHICAGO – The Illinois Senate has unanimously passed the Cable & Video Competition Act, which if signed into law is designed to introduce new competition and cable choices to Illinois consumers.

from: Ars Technica

Illinois to become latest state to give telecoms statewide video franchise

By Eric Bangeman | Published: June 20, 2007 - 12:02PM CT

Illinois has become the latest state to give new entrants into the cable television market a statewide franchise. Passed by the Illinois State Senate yesterday and sent to Gov. Rod Blagojevich for signature, the High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Act will give AT&T a green light to deploy its U-Verse broadband and IPTV service throughout the state, regardless of the wishes of local municipalities.

from: Indianapolis Business Journal

AT&T Is Holding Up Road Projects, Municipalities Claim
June 19, 2007
By Chris O’Malley

Weeks after Indianapolis sued AT&T Indiana for costly delays in relocating phones wire for a road project, Hendricks County officials say the phone company has put them behind schedule and thousands of dollars over budget.

from: Chicago Tribune

Senate greenlights cable bill
Franchise rules to soften if governor signs off

By Monique Garcia
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 19, 2007, 2:43 PM CDT

SPRINGFIELD—In a move aimed at creating cable TV competition and lowering rates statewide, the Senate passed legislation today that would allow AT&T and other telecommunications companies to more easily get into the cable-television business.

Illinois Video Bill SB 678 passes the Senate – PEG Access is protected.

For more information: Barbara Popovic - bpopovic@cantv.org

Illinois SB 678 (the amended HB 1500) passed in the Illinois House by a vote of 113-0 on May 31 followed by a 54-0 vote in the Illinois Senate on June 19.

SB 678 resolves public, educational, government (PEG) access TV and many of the local regulatory control issues. Strong consumer protection and enforcement provisions are included in the bill. SB 678 does not resolve all concerns about build-out requirements but is an improvement over the original HB 1500.

from: Reclaim the Media

The Year of cable discontent

by David Hatch, Tech Daily

For the cable industry, 2007 could be a year of discontent. Lost among the headlines about the transition to digital television and efforts to rejuvenate telecommunications legislation is a bevy of proposals that threaten to reshape the subscription television business.