Local cable and all its services are threatened

LOCAL CABLE AND ALL ITS SERVICES ARE THREATENED
[SOURCE: Minneapolis Star Tribune, AUTHOR: Rick Talbot And Steve Larson, North Suburban Access Corp./CTV-15]
[Commentary] The Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement (COPE) Act of 2006, introduced by House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, could end local sports and election coverage and other community programming in the Twin Cities area. The bill would preempt state law and local franchises that require cable television providers to serve an entire city and allow the new providers to cherry-pick where they provide service. Although the bill looks like it leaves management of the public rights-of-way to local governments, in fact, all disputes about local rights-of-way rules and regulations must be appealed to the Federal Communications Commission, not state court. This puts ultimate control of our local streets and roads in the hands of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., a thousand miles away. Furthermore, it is hard to imagine untrained officials trying to resolve a local dispute over an ill-placed 6-foot-high fiber box in a resident's yard. Of equal concern, in order to get a national license to provide cable television service, all an applicant has to do is file the company's name, address and telephone number with the FCC. Although the bill was written to benefit telephone companies Verizon, AT&T and Qwest, the reality is that, under this scheme, a bankrupt, convicted felon could apply for a license and, 30 days later, start digging up the streets in our cities. If you believe in localism, in being able to watch your local government or your next-door neighbor on television, and in control of your local rights-of-way management, contact the members of Congress immediately.
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