Telco, Cable Worlds Apart on Franchises

TELCO, CABLE WORLDS APART ON FRANCHISES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Bush Administration, the FCC, and Congress are essentially on the same page that some video franchise reform is needed to help spur price and service competition to cable and the roll-out of broadband service. Even the cable industry agrees on reform, so long as it is fair to both sides. The FCC has been considering how to streamline the franchising process to speed the roll-out of broadband. While pushing for new franchise legislation and regulation, the telephone industry is looking for a national franchising process that would allow it to bypass the local franchising negotiations. The telcos potentially have two avenues for national franchise regulatory relief. The FCC could decide to exercise its authority under the 1992 Cable Act if it concluded LFA's were being unreasonable in their demands and unduly delaying the process, or Congress could mandate a national franchising scheme as part of its planned rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
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