FCC's new cable rules: one step forward, one step back?

FCC'S NEW CABLE RULES: ONE STEP FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK?
[SOURCE: Lasar's Letter on the FCC, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Media reform groups offered mixed reviews at best to the Federal Communications Commission's latest moves on cable competition and video franchise authority. "Today, the FCC gives to the American people with one hand, but takes back with the other," declared Harold Feld of the Media Access Project after today's decisions on competition and franchising. In December of 2006 the FCC prohibited. Local Franchising Authorities (LFAs) from setting "unreasonable build out requirements" for new applicants and put ceilings on franchise fees. The agency also set a 90 day time limit on the amount of time an LFA can take to negotiate a franchise with a new video provider. The decision extends those restrictions to incumbent video providers as well as new applicants. MAP's Feld praised the video competition ruling, but said that the franchising move further deprives local communities of means to solve complex cable access problems that more competition may not address. "Local franchising authorities provided a needed local advocate and counterweight against the power of these multi-billion dollar companies, who all too frequently ignore the needs of individual citizens or even whole neighborhoods of less 'desirable' customers," Feld said. The Alliance for Community Media also issued a statement condemning the order. "This ruling is one more attempt to destroy even the most humble aspects of community control, self-determination or diversity in media," the statement concluded. The Commission approved the measure by a vote of three to two, both of the FCC's Democrats voting no. Jonathan Adelstein accused the agency of turning the video franchise process "into a regulatory minefield for local governments, and that will likely impact the ability of local government for provide critical, state-of-the-art services when it matters most."
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