February 2006

Net Neutrality Debate May End Up in Congress

SOURCE: eWeek, AUTHOR: Caron Carlson]

U.S. companies won't go to briefing on human rights, Internet in China

[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Foster Klug]

Phone Firms Get Anaheim Mayor's Backing to Offer TV Service Free of Limits on Cable

[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James S. Granelli]

Cable Rolls Out Ad Campaign, Views On Video Franchises

[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
The National Cable and Telecommunications Association rolled out a new multimillion dollar television and print advertising campaign designed to showcase the industry's hardscrabble roots and its "honorable" and entrepreneurial role in the nation's culture and economy. The campaign, dubbed "A Great American Success Story," attempts to showcase positive attributes about the cable industry. It lays the groundwork for a long-ranging role in telecommunications policy debates.

White Paper on Video Programming

[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
MAP's new white paper on video programming addresses the question in media policy as to whether direct broadcast satellite (DBS), terrestrial cable overbuilders, or potential new entrants such as the incumbent telephone companies, provide true competition to traditional incumbent cable operators, such as Comcast. The paper suggests that unless subscribers can switch from one service to another with reasonable ease, the expected benefits of competition -- lower prices, innovation, and diverse high quality programming -- simply will not emerge.