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from: Germantown News

Cable bill pulled from consideration
By Terry Britt

If AT&T wants a piece of the Germantown cable provider scene, it's still going to have to go through the city's licensing procedures.

Wednesday, a legislative bill backed by AT&T was withdrawn from consideration by its sponsors, Reps. Steve McDaniel and Charles Curtiss. The bill would have given cable television providers like AT&T the ability to apply for a statewide franchise rather than going through individual municipalities.

Germantown Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy is among local officials relieved to know the bill is gone for this year at least.

“I and other (board of aldermen) members were in Nashville Tuesday and Wednesday lobbying very hard to persuade our legislators to oppose the AT&T Bill,” Goldsworthy said.

“When word began to drift around the (capitol) plaza on Wednesday that the bill sponsor had withdrawn it, that was when we began to see the turn of the tide,” she said. “Until that happened, we were not optimistic, because even in an amended form, there were conditions that were not acceptable at all.”

Goldsworthy said it was “at times frustrating” to hear the bill touted in several committee meetings and joint sessions last week. However, she said Shelby County legislators “really stepped up and understood the real issues.”

“Rep. Steve McManus (R-Cordova) as well as other Shelby County legislators were really important in asking the good questions,” Goldsworthy said. “The bill certainly would have greatly diminished our authority and affected our ability to work with any cable provider that wants to be in our community.”

She also said the bill would have adversely affected GHS-TV and other public education or local government channels statewide.

Proponents of the bill argued it would make easier entry for cable providers and create more competitive pricing for customers, something Goldsworthy said has not been the case in other states in which similar bills have passed.

“There is a lot of evidence it doesn't happen that way, and it also affects how consumer complaints are handled,” she said. “We looked at research done in Chicago and Texas, and it showed facts to the contrary about pricing.

“There might be an introductory offer depression, but like everything else, cable prices continue to climb,” Goldsworthy said.

GHS-TV Executive Producer Frank Bluestein praised the mayor and aldermen for their efforts.

“Mayor Goldsworthy, as well as the city staff and aldermen, really took a great leadership role in not just a local perspective but across the state. They were out front of any city in the state really pointing out the adverse effects on communities and public education stations like our own,” he said.