Community Cable Access Groups Oppose Verizon Franchise Plan Tell Mass Reps: Keep it Local

BOSTON/Beacon Hill - Employees of community access cable stations members of cable advisory boards representatives from business associations and elected officials from across Massachusetts attended a Joint Committee on Telecommunications Utilities and Energy hearing at the State House Wednesday to offer testimony opposing legislation filed on behalf of Verizon that opponents said would weaken the ability of towns and cities to negotiate fair cable franchising licenses. Over 100 people many wearing labels that read "Keep it Local " attended Wednesday's hearing on House No. 3765 and Senate No. 1531 titled "An Act promoting consumer choice and competition for cable service " filling every seat and crowding the room's small space. The most contentious provisions in the proposed legislation would likely reduce franchise fees provided via PEG funding for public access television by including capital costs in PEG's 5% franchise fee cap. (Currently infrastructure costs are exempt from the cap.) In addition the legislation would impose timetables for municipalities to respond to a carrier's license application. While current licensing negotiations can take between one and three years the bill would require a city or town to: Within ten business days of receipt of application begin negotiations with a carrier Within 90 days of receipt of application hold a public hearing to discuss the application Within five business days of the public hearing approve or deny the application Proponents of the bill argued that establishing a standard statewide timetable for municipalities to act on an application would eliminate some of the uncertainties in the process allowing Verizon and potentially other cable providers to more quickly and confidently enter a market. This they argue would benefit both PEG stations by providing new revenue and consumers by increasing competition. In his testimony Joe Zukowski Vice President for Goverment Affairs at Verizon told the Committee "It's consumers that are probably the most important special interest in the cable franchising process and they really shouldn't have to wait for real cable choice. You didn't see the $99 package offer come to Massachusetts until Verizon started offering its service. It didn't happen. And after we did there honestly became an arms race between us and the competitors." Opponents of the bill disagreed that the bill would either increase competition or PEG funding. They voiced concern that reduced franchise fees would harm community television stations and the mandated timetables don't provide cities and towns the time necessary to conduct the complex negotiations and public hearings that cable licensing requires. In a letter urging members of the Committee to defeat the bill Susan Fleischmann Executive Director of Cambridge Community Television wrote "The primary purposes of this bill are to unreasonably shorten the period of negotiation for the benefit of Verizon and to the detriment of consumers and local government and to place a cap on equipment and facility payments to municipalities. The bill would reduce the complex local negotiation process to a mere 90 days which would essentially make meaningful negotiations impossible." Bob Kelly Executive Director of NewTV and chairman of MassAccess the local chapter of The Alliance for Community Media told Open Media Boston that Massachusetts communities already have competition without this proposed legislation. "In 2007 [Verizon] had nearly forty franchise agreements in cities and towns in Massachusetts and now they're up to 100. So in the past 24 months they picked up another sixty franchises. So it appears that the system is working. I don't know why they suggest that it isn't." Representative Denise Provost (27 Middlesex District Somerville) testified that House No. 3765 "does not promote competition or local control as suggested but in fact hamstrings communities and their ability to negotiate with the big telecommunications companies that provide local cable." Representative Provost told the Committee Somerville's mayor has invited Verizon to apply for a cable license but the company was not interested. Later testimony by representatives mayors and Cable Advisory Board members from Milford Whitman Beverly and East Bridgewater revealed similar stories across the state: In spite of invitations and repeated attempts to enter or continue negotiations with Verizon many towns in Massachusetts were unable to attract or maintain the company's attention to secure a cable licensing contract. Walter Kosmowski Executive Director of Beverly Community Access Media testified that "Verizon has itself said very clearly that it is picking and choosing the [cities] and towns into which it rolls out its services governed by business models based on investment and profitability. They'll adhere to this rollout model whether it's under new or existing franchise legislation. In Beverly the city in which I live we have been begging Verizon to set up shop. The mayor Bill Scanlon who was up before you earlier has written asking when they will offer their services only to be told that we are not on their radar which means that we apparently don't meet their minimum hurdle for profitability. So it's not about competition. It's about ROI." You can stream the full 135 minute audio recording from Wednesday's hearing below. Or download the original file. Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati