Save Access

From: Free Press

FCC Cuts Out Local Communities in Video Franchising Order

March 5, 2007

Today, the Federal Communications Commission released a “Report and Order” that would circumvent local control over video franchising and reject longstanding public interest requirements. Representatives of consumer, media reform and media policy groups made the following statements:

Ben Scott, Policy Director, Free Press, (202) 265-1490, x22
“We have serious concerns about the authority of the FCC to issue these rules. Why has Congress worked for over a year to address franchise reform if the FCC could do the work of legislators in one fell swoop? Despite these unresolved questions of its legal authority, the FCC has issued this order with little regard for maintaining the public services that local governments have long protected. It is irresponsible to grant a blanket franchise without protections for public access TV and a reasonable build-out requirement to ensure that all households in a community enjoy the benefits of competition.”

Jeannine Kenney, Senior Policy Analyst, Consumers Union, (202) 238-9249
“In pursuit of the valuable goal of competition in cable TV markets, the FCC has managed to craft a policy that is unfriendly to consumers. It is not enough to bring competition only to certain areas in a community. Meaningful build-out requirements are an essential component of any public interest franchising process. This Order ties the hands of local authorities to protect their most vulnerable constituencies.”

Amina Fazlullah, Staff Attorney, U.S. PIRG, (202) 546-9707, x336
“The FCC’s arrogant order today shows both an obvious ignorance of the limits Congress placed on its authority and a failure to comprehend that the best place to make decisions that affect local viewers is at the local level. Even worse, instead of helping to speed deployment of broadband to our communities, this FCC order plunges the future of broadband deployment into confusion.”

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, President, Media Access Project, (202) 454-5681
“We need competition in video, but this decision will not produce it. What it surely will do, however, is to destroy local control over cable TV services.”