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from: Nieman Watchdog

Wisconsin: A case study in how corporations get the legislation they want

COMMENTARY | January 31, 2008

Telecom and broadband expert and activist Bruce Kushnick describes how model corporate bills get introduced and enacted in Wisconsin, to the detriment of the common good. (Second of two articles.)

from: MultiChannel News

AT&T Knocked for 'Inferior' PEG Channels
Alliance for Community Media Complains About U-verse TV to House Subcommittee
by Todd Spangler
Multichannel News
1/31/2008 5:24:00 PM

The Internet-based technology AT&T touts as giving it an edge over the cable industry was criticized this week by the Alliance for Community Media as providing an “inferior” platform for public, educational and government channels.

from: Detroit Free Press

Comcast apologizes in channel dispute
Agreement sought on public-access switch

January 30, 2008

By JUSTIN HYDE

FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON -- A top Comcast executive apologized Tuesday to officials in Dearborn and other communities for pushing plans to move public-access cable channels, which would make them less available to up to 450,000 customers.

from: TATOA

Letter to Tennessee PEG from TATOA

Texas Association of Telecommunication Officers and Advisors(TATOA)
P.O. Box 1088, Austin, Texas 78767

January 22, 2008

Dear Tennessee colleagues:

I understand that you are considering legislation that would undo the current system of local franchising for cable television services in favor of a state-issued certificate for new entrants such as AT&T. Because Texas is frequently referenced by proponents of this legislation (such as AT&T and “astroturf” groups like TV4US) as a “success story” for state-issued franchising legislation, we felt it would be important to correct some popular misconceptions about our experience in the Lone Star State.

from: House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Statement by Dingell at PEG Hearing

January 29, 2008

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this very important hearing. Let me begin by welcoming several friends here today, including my dear friend Mayor O’Reilly of Dearborn, Michigan. Thank you for your time and efforts to participate in today’s hearing.

from: Broadcasting and Cable

Comcast Defends Michigan PEG-Channel Move
Executive VP David Cohen Testifies Before House Energy & Commerce Committee
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/29/2008 8:56:00 AM

Comcast was on Capitol Hill Tuesday defending its transition of some Michigan PEG (public, educational and government) channels to digital delivery but apologizing for the way it was handled.

from: MultiChannel News

Dingell Praises Comcast For PEG Flexibility
Comcast Official Cites 'Friendly' Talks With Michigan Local Officials
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 1/29/2008 2:51:00 PM

House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) Tuesday afternoon saluted Comcast Corp. for its willingness to reach a compromise with local governments in Michigan on the carriage of public, educational, governmental channels. Comcast, for its part, affirmed it was not discriminating against PEG channels.

from: Alliance for Community Media

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 29, 2008
Alliance Testifies Before House Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet: PEG Access in the Digital Age

The Alliance was represented today by Ms. Annie Folger, Executive Director of the Midpeninsula Media Center. Ms. Folger’s remarks addressed the difficulties faced byPublic, Educational and Government Access (PEG) communities across the country. Many communities are seeing threats to their PEG facilities posed by video providersunwilling to meet the public interest needs required of them in exchange for use of the public rights of ways.

Millions of dollars have been spent by telephone and cable companies in the past two years on ad campaigns and lobbying to influence state cable franchise laws in 17+ states. The FCC has over-ruled Congress, assigning itself powers that Congress conferred on local communities.

According to Ms. Folger, “This chaos is being used to dismantle PEG support and to damage channel quality and accessibility. We welcome competition. But it cannot be used to gut PEG Access provisions that have provided direct service to the local community.”

Ms. Folger’s testimony made special example of AT&T’s blockage of closed-captioning for PEG channels on its U-Verse system— a function which is found on all of its commercial channels. At DeAnza Community College in Ms. Folger’s home town, this policy results in the inability of hearing impaired students to view classes which they need to improve their lives.

According to Alliance Executive Director, Anthony Riddle, “AT&T’s practice is not the only bad act
by a video provider, but their willingness to sacrifice the needs of disabled students in a race for
profit certainly makes them the poster child of corporate irresponsibility.”

Another issue raised was the “channel-slamming” engaged in by Comcast. Channel slamming is the practice of relocating PEG channels from desirable locations to inaccessible or unfamiliar “wilderness” locations on short notice and without consulting the communities involved. Additional purchases or steps may be required of viewers to continue viewing PEG channels. This practice isolates the PEG channels and tends to decrease viewership.

Many PEG centers have moved into digital technology for production and transmission. PEG centers are fully engaged in migration to an integrated digital environment when allowed. The primary challenge for PEG access is not digital technology, but how cable providers— whether traditional cable operator or telephone company— provide PEG signal quality, functionality, channel placement and funding support.

For more detail, please refer to the attached testimonies and summaries.

ACM: Annie Folger Summary: summary-testimony.doc

Today's Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee Hearing, "Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) services in the Digital TV Age", was called by Rep. John Dingell (MI) in response to Comcast's actions in Michigan. Comcast had unilaterally announced that PEG channels in many municipalities would be bumped from analog cable carriage to obscure digital channels in the 900 range. The move would mean that 'basic' cable subscribers would no longer have access to the local PEG channels, in fact they would need to subscribe to more a expensive digital cable service tier and pay for an additional charge for a digital cable set-top box.

from: The Street Insider

Cable Competition, Prices, and Service Rated 'Very Poor'

January 29, 2008 8:10 AM EST

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the law firm of Howard & Howard Attorneys, P.C. issued its inaugural "Cable Competition Index" for the State of Michigan. Howard & Howard's Cable Competition Index considers the status of wireline video competition in the state, the level of customer service provided by cable operators, and the relative pace of cable price increases.