NEWS
State wants control of cable
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by Keegan Kyle
Monday, March 12, 2007
In an effort to increase cable television competition across Wisconsin, legislators introduced a bill Thursday that would give state officials the authority to grant statewide video franchises.
The power currently rests on the shoulders of local municipalities that, under the bill, would lose the authority to require cable companies to pay certain franchise fees and provide citywide access.
The proposed bill, authored by state Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Green Bay, would also repeal certain rights of cable television subscribers, who may currently qualify for compensation during particular service interruptions.
Brad Clark, city of Madison cable television coordinator, said revoking the municipality's authority to grant cable franchises would greatly reduce local influence and customer service.
"That local presence would be taken away," Clark said. "There is no reason why the current franchising system should be replaced."
Under federal law, cable companies are generally prohibited from providing service without a franchise contract, which is usually a shared revenue agreement. Current Wisconsin law grants municipalities the authority to negotiate franchises and to impose additional fees.
Madison, like most municipalities, requires cable providers to pay 5 percent of revenues from the area, as well as regular fees for using the public rights of way.
In 2006, Clark said the city of Madison generated $1.9 million from its franchise agreement with Charter Communications, the nation's third-largest cable provider.
Under the proposed bill, video providers — which include cable companies and other video providers such as AT&T's new U-verse — would be required to seek a single statewide franchise agreement with the state Department of Financial Institutions. The bill excludes wireless and Internet-provided video.
Jeff Bentoff, an AT&T Wisconsin spokesperson, said the current system to acquire franchises is "unnecessarily complicated" since it requires companies to negotiate unique contracts with more than 1,850 cities, towns and villages across the state.
"Consumers receive major benefits by having a single franchise process," Bentoff said. "It's done quickly, and that's important to consumers."
Tom Moore, executive director of the Wisconsin Cable Communications Association, said the bill would create a level playing field for video service providers, but he added his organization will remain "cautiously neutral" with the proposed bill.
"We're going to work pretty hard to make sure the bill that was drafted is fair to all providers," Moore said. "That's what's best to us and best to consumers."
Members of AT&T and the WCCA have been working with Montgomery for more than a year to create a bill similar to legislation passed by 11 other states, which places the franchise granting authority on the state level.
Montgomery, chairperson of the Assembly's Committee on Energy and Utilities to which the bill would be referred, said a statewide system of granting franchises will lead to reduced cable prices due to increased competition.
"Anytime you have competition, one of the first things you'll see if a reduction of the cost," Montgomery said. "The second benefit is to the state economy."
Montgomery also said reduced prices would encourage more consumers to enter the telecommunications market, which would better for video companies and the state budget.
Anonymous (March 12, 2007 @ 10:53am):
Once more a higher power is going to take away power from source close to the people. Probably in a few years the national government will pass a similar law taking it away from the states. How long will people allow government to take power further and further away from the common person's power to change? People complain about lobbyist taking away people power to change elected officials but as an elected person comes from a smaller district lobbyist powers become less and less.
-Germain E. Stemme
Anonymous (March 12, 2007 @ 1:28pm):
Germain. You are missing the point. I hate Charter. This will allow other cable companies to bid and i have a feeling we can finally get rid of charter and their high fees, poor customer service, and frequent black outs.
Anonymous (March 12, 2007 @ 4:20pm):
Perhaps we should remember that statewide control of anything can only lead to an increase of consumer neglect. Why should companies worry about one person, or one community when all they need is the approval of the Governor or Legislature? Lets be fair, Wisconsin politics has recently not been known for its cleanliness.
- Germain E. Stemme
Anonymous (March 12, 2007 @ 6:17pm):
Wait, so a Republican wants to take away local control and give it to the state? Must be some money or something involved....unless it's opposite day.
Anonymous (March 12, 2007 @ 7:10pm):
He wants the revenue sharing to go to the state coffers and cut out the towns and cities. The towns and cities have unfunded mandates from the state and feds and cannot afford to lose the revenue.
There is no 'competition' in cable -- a few companies cornered the entire market and divvy it up as they see fit. You won't see lower prices, just more blackouts and worse service.
By the way, cable companies have proposed to provide better service and more channel choices to the zip codes with higher incomes in exchange for kickbacks from advertisers on these higher tier channels. Keep cable decisions local.
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