Telcos Push Franchise Revamp Up Hill

[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Congressional panels will soon try to relax cable-franchising rules for telephone companies that want to get into the video business. And they are likely to respond directly to complaints from AT&T and Verizon that the current municipal process is dysfunctional, since winning a local franchise can take months -- and can sometimes require funding the construction not just of a new communications network, but such things as traffic lights and football fields as well. If the phone giants score big, they might even be able to selectively pick where they roll out their video services. That would mean they could target their investments to areas where cable’s best customers live, while cable operators would be weighed down by local pacts that require constant servicing of every household in a community. Who wants what in House and Senate franchising bills: 1) Sens. John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) -- (S. 1394) Video Choice Act of 2005: No video franchise required for phone companies already authorized to occupy rights of way to provide phone service. 2) Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) -- (S.1504) Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act of 2005: Neither franchise nor buildout requirements may be imposed on any video service provider. 3) Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): Freedom from local franchising requirement, in exchange for requirement to offer channels of programming on an a la carte basis. 4) Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX) Fred Upton (R-MI): No franchise required for providers of broadband Internet transmission service (BITS).
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6308722.html?display=Top+Stories
(requires subscription)

See also --
* Local officials, cable TV fight phone company franchise plans
[SOURCE: St Louis Post Dispatch, AUTHOR: David Nicklaus]
[Commentary] All of a sudden, the cable TV industry and America's local elected officials have become political best friends. Why? Because they worry that Congress or state legislatures, or both, will act on bills to promote more competition in video services. Such action would hurt the cable companies' profits, of course, but it also would derail an important gravy train for cities and towns.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/columnists.nsf/davidnicklaus/story/C9E0C4B34CCA6029862571190038105B?OpenDocument