States Waking Up To AT&T, Verizon 'Franchise Reform' Con

[Commentary] The "franchise reform" bills the baby bells have been pushing state by state promise lower TV prices, but are really little more than legislative wish lists that erode consumer protections, legitimize next-generation broadband "cherry picking," strip away eminent domain rights, and make lobbying easier for carriers. After dozens of states drank a little too much lobbyist juice, consumers in those states are waking up in bed with a ragged-looking AT&T or Verizon, and no lower TV prices anywhere in sight. These bills are actually harming consumers, and it appears that most people are waking up to this fact far too late. Despite the endless failed promises, phone company lobbying astroturf front groups like TV4US are still using the promise of lower TV prices to push these franchise reform laws in additional states. TV4US even gets quoted in news reports as a consumer group concerned with high cable prices. An extra point for irony. The entire thing has been one elaborate, ingenious con, but well-lobbied state politicians continue to pretend that these laws help consumers. The media certainly hasn't helped. When bloggers and technology journalists can be bothered to cover this issue (droll video legislation is not exactly an eyeball grabber or advertising engine), they've usually taken the cost saving claims of carrier lobbyists at face value. It should be interesting to see how many more states the ILECs can con before the public really wakes up from what's been a major disinformation bender.