Phone Firms Await FCC on Cable Ruling

PHONE FIRMS AWAIT FCC ON CABLE RULING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alan Sipress]
Telephone companies could get a major boost today in their efforts to penetrate the cable television market when the Federal Communications Commission considers a measure that would give state and local officials less latitude in awarding cable franchises. FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin, a leading advocate of the rule, has argued that government officials often stymie competition by delaying decisions on awarding cable franchises to telephone companies and by imposing exorbitant fees and conditions. As a result, cable operators often have been able to maintain a virtual monopoly on television services, resulting in steadily increasing prices for consumers, according to Martin. Though the draft proposal will not be made public until today, it has already drawn sharp criticism from cable companies -- which argue that it would unfairly penalize them -- and local and state officials, who balk at efforts to curtail their authority in awarding franchises.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/19/AR200612...
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