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from: Sun Newspapers

New FCC ruling has community television representatives worried

BY GRANT BOELTER - SUN NEWSPAPERS
(Created: Wednesday, May 2, 2007 9:47 PM CDT)

When you pay your cable bill each month, a portion of what you pay goes toward televising local government programming, as well as building and maintaining the technology infrastructure used by your city's government buildings.

However a recent rule change adopted by the Federal Communications Commission aimed at fostering more competition in the cable market has local cable authorities, like Burnsville-Eagan Community Television (BECT), worried that the money will no longer be there to provide the same level of government programming as we see now.

"We're all for competition. We want competition because we feel it would be in the best interest of our residents," said Lakeville Cable Coordinator Jeff Leuders, who also is the president of the Minnesota Association of Community Telecommunications Administrators.

However, Leuders said the FCC ruling could be problematic because cities may not be able to require cable providers to extend services to all residents, as well as to provide enough money for government programming and technology infrastructure. Also, it could set up two different regulatory systems, one for those already in the market and one for those entering the market.

Cities negotiate agreements with cable providers, like Comcast, to determine the amount of money and resources that will be dedicated to community and government programming. These agreements do not pertain to satellite providers, who don't carry government programming.

Included in the agreements are franchise fees, which cannot exceed more than 5 percent of the amount of money that cable companies take in. Cities may also include stipulations that require the cable companies to provide Internet access to public buildings. Cities can now require cable companies to eventually provide service to all residents and can negotiate an additional public, educational and governmental (PEG) fee, which provides funding for additional capital and operating costs.

With the ruling FCC ruling, local cable authorities, which may also be a cooperative effort among cities or cities by themselves, may not be able to charge that extra fee. There is some debate to whether the cities may have to reimburse cable companies for infrastructure costs, said Eagan Communications Director Tom Garrison.

Each local franchising authority (for example, BECT) has a different agreement with its cable provider. Lakeville Community Television and Apple Valley/Rosemount/Farmington Community Television have agreements with Charter Communications. BECT and Town Square Television, which provides service to West St. Paul, South St. Paul, Mendota Heights and Inver Grove Heights, have agreements with Comcast. There is also a small provider in the Evermore Development in Rosemount called Fiber to the Home.

PEG fees also differ between cities. Lakeville does not charge a PEG fee and operates using franchise fees alone. Apple Valley/Rosemount/Farmington charges a PEG fee of 50 cents per month. Lakeville collaborates with Apple Valley/Rosemount/Farmington in contracting with an individual who provides public access programming equipment and training to interested residents.

Burnsville/Eagan charges a $1.77 monthly PEG fee to customers and Town Square Television charges $1.55 per month. BECT and Town Square have stand-alone studios with equipment and training available for residents. BECT has eight staff members who work at the studio and Town Square has 15, as some work part time. Both also rely heavily on volunteers.

A lawsuit is being brought to district court in Ohio by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATAO) in partnership with the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties. If the court does not put the new provisions on hold, Town Square Television Director Jodie Miller said the changes could take effect in 60 days. Leuders said he expected the fight to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Congress made an attempt to enact similar provisions last fall, but the vote fell short in the U.S. Senate. Miller said she thought local cable authorities (BECT, for example) would be in good shape after Democrats took control of Congress. But, then the FCC chose to act alone in December, and its commission vote was split 3-2 along party lines, with Republicans holding the majority on the commission. Congress has yet to act one way or the other on the FCC's latest ruling.

Mike Martin, executive director of the Minnesota Cable Communications Association which is a trade association of the state's franchised cable companies, said his organization doesn't have an official position on the FCC ruling.

"We just don't know how this is going to come down," said Martin, adding that nothing will change "until somebody says that they have to compute [agreements] differently."

"I think what the FCC is trying to do is make it so cities' obligations don't make competition impossible," he said, adding that under the current conditions, he doesn't believe competition is impossible.

(You are invited to comment about this story on our website at www.mnsun.com and/or write a letter to the editor at suncurrentsouth@acnpapers.com.)

- Reduce franchise fees paid by cable providers

- Prohibit cities from requiring cable providers to charge consumer an additional public, educational and governmental (PEG) fee

- Possibly assess local governments for previous infrastructure work provided at no cost by cable providers

- Limit requirements on cable companies to provide service to all parts of the city