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from: Knox Views

Tennessee Legislative update
Submitted by R. Neal on Mon, 2007/05/21 - 12:20pm.

The AT&T sponsored cable franchise bill is back on the calendar for tomorrow in both the House Commerce and Senate Commerce, Labor & Agriculture committees. Previous posts about the bill can be found here and here. (The Senate version now has ten amendments and I haven't had time to read them. Does anybody know what they say?)

from: Business Journal

Competitive Cable and Video Services Act
Quite possibly the most talked about legislation of the session is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee on Tuesday.

Known as the “Competitive Cable and Video Services Act”, Senate Bill 1933 would allow any entity seeking to provide cable or video service over a cable system or video service network facility in Tennessee to apply for a statewide franchise agreement, as opposed to a local franchise.

The bill is being pushed by AT&T. They are claiming that passage of the bill will quickly allow them to enter the cable services market providing consumers with additional choices and lower prices for services. Opponents claim that there is already a system in place, and passage of the bill will give AT&T an unfair advantage.

Both proponents and opponents of the bill have made presentations to the Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee in recent weeks. This week, the committee heard amendments to address a number of concerns with the bill.

The amendments make several key changes to the bill:
Rights-of-way remain under local control. Adds a build out requirement for new entrants. Requires a telecommunications company with more than one million lines to offer service in 25 percent of its statewide footprint within three years and 50 percent within 6 years.

Makes the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) the franchising authority rather than the Secretary of State.
Includes franchise fees and late fees as a part of the definition of gross revenues.
Customer complaints will be fielded by local representatives.
Deletes reference to placing equipment on land of private individuals.
Limits statewide franchise certificate to ten years.
Franchise fees remain under local control.
Statewide franchise holders must provide 90 days advance notice and provide refunds for service not provided if they want to terminate service.

Permits all existing public, educational and governmental access (PEG) channels for non commercial programming to be permanently preserved regardless of usage.

The committee will resume debate on the bill at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.