FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Lauren-Glenn Davitian
CCTV Center for Media & Democracy
Davitian@cctv.org, 802.862.1645 x12

Michael Eisenmenger,
Manhattan Neighborhood Network
Michael@mnn.org, 212.757.2670 x333

COPE Act poses an immediate threat to “Community Access TV”, “Net Neutrality” and “Low Income, Rural, and Minority Communities—Redlining”

Proposed Telecom Bill, COPE, harms communities, consumers, and citizens. Communities must ensure broadband serves public interest.

As Congress puts a new telecommunications law on the fast track, public outcry is growing against the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006 (the COPE Act”). Contending the new legislation is fatally flawed, a growing coalition of public interest, municipal and grassroots media organizations has launched a new web site to send a message to Congress: www.SaveAccess.org. Organizations include the Center for Digital Democracy, Free Press, Association for Community Networking, Action Coalition for Media Education, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Chicago Media Action, Media Alliance, Media Tank, CCTV-Cambridge and the Center for Media & Democracy.

The COPE Act, expected to reach the floor of the House of Representatives within the next week, will turn seventy years of communications policy on its head. The Act will remove municipal government control of public rights-of-way and undermine hard-fought public interest requirements that include: open access to telecommunications networks by competitors and consumers (network neutrality), service for all Americans—regardless of the neighborhood or region they live in (anti-redlining) and public access to video networks (public, educational and government access television).

In short, COPE will free the telecommunications industry from local oversight and the few public service requirements that remain.

“Decisions made today will effect the whole future of television and the Internet”, says Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy.

The SaveAccess.org Coalition will work to kill the legislation unless it includes continued ability of local governments to control their rights of way, public access to commercial features of video networks, anti-redlining provisions and network neutrality provisions.

The COPE Act is authored by Joe Barton (R-TX) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill). It has been written to benefit large phone companies—such as AT&T and Verizon. SaveAccess.org offers background, news and quick and simple “Action Steps” the public can take to defeat the bill: www.saveaccess.org.

Brief Overview on SaveAccess.org Coalition Positions:

Local Control: Pro telephone monopoly politicians are pushing this legislation arguing it will create competition between video service companies—and thereby lower subscriber rates. Municipal organizations disagree—they say nationalized franchising would actually limit competition and undermine the ability of local governments to protect their residents”. In its most recent press statement, NATOA warns: “The bill strips local governments of their authority to franchise the use of public rights-of-way for video/cable services and gives that authority to the federal government. The FCC has never had the authority to regulate local public rights-of-way and has no expertise concerning local streets, sidewalks, public safety or traffic patterns.”

Common Cause maintains that “COPE strips state and local governments of their authority to enforce strong consumer protections (despite their excellent track record in this area) and gives those powers to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) instead. The FCC doesn't have the resources to handle complaints about billing, service disruptions, etc., nor does it have the authority to issue refunds or rebates to consumers who have had problems (the FCC can only fine the companies, and that money would go into the public treasury-not to wronged consumers). Local problems deserve local solutions.”

Redlining: On the issue of redlining, SaveAccess.org Coalition says services should be for everyone “not just people who live in affluent areas”. That's why the bill must include “build out” safeguards—ensuring the phone companies cannot simply serve the most profitable neighborhoods, while skipping over or “redlining” less profitable communities—such as rural, low income or minority ones.

Network Neutrality/ Open Access: The COPE Act fails to protect the open access requirements of the phone companies—allowing them to introduce a discriminatory pay-as-you-go system for their Internet service-- speeding access to some content, while slowing access to other content. Media ethicist Elliot Cohen posts: “Presently, behemoth telecom corporations like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T are poised to set up toll booths on the Internet. According to this plan, only content providers with deep pockets would be given optimum Internet connectivity.” In response to this threat the "SaveTheInternet.com" collected more than 250,000 signatures in the last week, calling on Congress to protect internet freedom.

Public, Education and Community (PEG) Access: While the proposed legislation does require phone and cable companies to pay annual fees to cities and also to provide public, educational and governmental (PEG) access channels for local use, it freezes in time PEG capacity--setting aside only a handful of public channels while placing off-limits the enormous potential of broadband cable systems to serve the public’s interest. Under the proposed national franchise plan, cable companies would be able to opt out of their current agreements, leaving local officials and residents powerless at the precise time when digital communications services are playing an ever-growing role in our daily lives. COPE will further shrink the range of locally produced public-interest non-commercial media—the so-called electronic “greenspace”.

Dan Coughlin, Executive Director of Manhattan Neighborhood Network, the public access provider in the Borough of Manhattan said, "The mission of cable public access is grounded in and supports First Amendment freedom of speech and public interest values. By providing space on the channels as well as access to training and equipment MNN encourages broad participation of citizens in the civic and cultural life of our community. The failure to provide proper support and channel capacity as determined by local needs will have a chilling effect on local media and the ability of the public to actively participate in the electronic "marketplace of ideas".

For more information: www.saveaccess.org