Telcos, cable in fierce legislative fight for new franchise rules

[Robbien]

The telephone companies, prominently Verizon for its FiOS video service and AT&T for its Lightspeed service, are lobbying for a national video-franchising scheme to short-circuit local-franchise negotiations. They say those local squabbles can stop competing telco franchises from getting a greenlight—and time is money.

At a Capitol Hill hearing earlier this month, top Verizon lobbyist and former congressman Tom Tauke tried to deliver the money shot with the statistic that, where FiOS competes head-to-head with cable, “bills go down, sometimes as much as 40%.” Verizon says that each year that goes by without franchise reform to foster video competition will cost consumers $8 billion.

The cable industry is also for video-franchise reform, but it argues that the playing field should be leveled, not tilted toward telcos. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association argues that the existing franchise process, which its operators had to go through, is not a barrier to entry and that the big phone companies shouldn’t be treated like little startups in need of government favors.

The other key issue in the battle for video-franchise relief is that telcos are being asked to embrace “network neutrality”—or “Internet freedom,” as its backers have dubbed it—which is essentially nondiscrimination in the provision of Internet service. The issue has spun off several stand-alone bills from legislators arguing that the new telco services will become gatekeepers for an Internet toll road where the price of admission—that is, security and more of the broadband pipe—will discourage the next Google or Amazon.com.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6340688.html?verticalid=311&industry=Special+Report&industryid=1025

[mcscajun]

1. Oh, it's fierce all right. Cablevision's been running ads here in NJ

talking about "The Verizon Cable Tax".

They're scaring their customers by saying "...you’ll pay Verizon’s new cable tax even if you can’t get or don’t want their service!" while they show ordinary people, including children and little old ladies putting big sacks of money in a Verizon laundry hamper.

Cablevision sucks, competition is good, and I can't wait to see what Verizon is offering, simply to see what else is OUT there. On the flip side, if Verizon comes along and cherry-picks only the most lucrative markets and ignores the rest, that's no benefit to NJ's consumers.

As to the "tax", yes it would double from 2 percent to 4 percent. On a $65 cable bill, that'd mean a tax jump from $1.30 to $2.60. I've got bigger things to worry about. Most of the increased tax would go to local governments, to offset their losses from no longer being able to individually negotiate cable franchises. A portion would go to subsidize cable access for seniors and the disabled.

[Gman]

2. money shot???

money shot?

I guess the Verizon's into porn.

[NVMojo]

3. the wailing and gnashing of teeth is called GREED

:nopity: