Compromise may be in Sight on Video Franchising

COMPROMISE MAY BE IN SIGHT ON VIDEO FRANCHISING
[SOURCE: Cox News Service, AUTHOR: Marilyn Geewax]
Cable, phone and consumer groups testifying at a Senate hearing Thursday appeared to be inching toward agreement on the national franchising of subscription television services. National franchising, as opposed to approval by thousands of individual communities, would speed the way for telephone companies to compete against cable operators in offering video services. That would guarantee "competitive choices for consumers," said Walter McCormick, chief executive of the U.S. Telecom Association, a trade group. Kyle McSlarrow, chief executive of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, told the lawmakers to ignore the phone executives who insist "they need special rules" to enter the video marketplace with "a regulatory advantage over their competitors." But McSlarrow also laid out a path toward compromise. He said the cable industry could accept national franchising if Congress would do three things: 1) Speed up the time it takes local franchising authorities to consider an application to provide subscription TV. 2) Allow an incumbent cable provider the right to opt into any new franchise agreement that offers better terms to a competitor. 3) Continue to allow local governments to decide when a franchisee is meeting community needs. Consumers Union vice president Gene Kimmelman testified that changes are needed to protect consumers. He noted that the local franchising process now forces cable operators to serve all neighborhoods, and a national franchise might leave phone companies "free to offer service to only wealthy neighborhoods, leaving behind middle- and low-income consumers who most need cable-rate relief."
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