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from: Republican American

Thursday, October 11, 2007 10:24 PM EDT

Battle over AT&T's U-verse TV service rages on

BY DAVID KRECHEVSKY REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

The legal battle over AT&T's U-verse television service continued this week on two fronts, with each side now looking to have competing rulings tossed out.

Meanwhile, AT&T's subscriber base for U-verse continues to grow despite the legal twists and turns.

Wednesday, AT&T asked federal Judge Janet Bond Arterton in U.S. District Court in New Haven to declare that her ruling this past summer that U-verse is a cable television service was made moot by a new state law that took effect Oct. 1.

The law, "An Act Concerning Certified Competitive Video Service," allows AT&T to apply for certification for its service instead of having to seek a cable TV franchise.

Arterton ruled in July that U-verse is a cable TV service as a result of lawsuits filed against state regulators by the Office of the Consumer Counsel, the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association and cable television companies. The lawsuits sought to overturn the state Department of Public Utility Control's 3-2 decision in June 2006, which declared that U-verse is not the same as cable TV and allowed AT&T to offer it without seeking a cable franchise.

After the judge ruled, AT&T asked her to reconsider, but that motion was denied last week.

In the wake of that denial, the state consumer counsel and attorney general filed motions with the DPUC on Wednesday asking it to vacate its June 2006 decision.

The motion states that Arterton's ruling means AT&T should have been required to seek a cable franchise before offering its service, and, because it did not, has been operating U-verse in violation of state and federal law.