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from: Boca Raton News

Boca to state: stop messing around in local business

Published Thursday, April 12, 2007 9:30 am
by By John Johnston

It’s not that Boca Raton Deputy City Manager George Brown doesn’t like consumers.

“We just don’t want the state messing around in local business,” he told The Boca Raton News.

from: State of Sunshine

Florida Senate Cable Television Bill

In the same committee, SB 998 by Sen. Mike Bennett is on the agenda. This bill would remove local government oversight of cable television (well, “video”) franchises and provide a state-level franchise process. A quick history lesson: When cable television was first developed, cable companies established franchises with local governments. In exchange for paying “franchise fees” to the local government, ostensibly for the right to run cable along public rights of way, the cable company received a monopoly in a geographic area. There were a lot of cable companies back then.

from: Bradenton Herald

Cable, phone spar in cat fight

By LYNDSEY LEWIS
Herald Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE - Three shadowy figures are popping up on TV screens all over Florida.

Decked out in suits, the figures burst on the screen without facial expressions, but they manage to appear ominous, just the same.

from: Technology Daily

Florida Takes Another Crack At Statewide Video Franchising

By Michael Martinez

(Monday, March 26) Statewide video franchising legislation in the Sunshine State may be headed back to the place it died last year.

The Florida House Friday approved a bill to let new video service providers seek statewide deals instead of negotiating with localities separately. Rep. Trey Traviesa, the bill's author, offered a similar proposal last year.

from: MultiChannel News

Fla. Senate Amends Franchise-Reform Bill
Low-Income Homes Protected with Build-Out Guidelines

By Linda Haugsted 3/26/2007 5:48:00 PM

A telephone-company-friendly franchise-reform bill passed late last week by the Florida House of Representatives was amended in a Senate committee to require penetration into one-half of the low-income homes passed by a new provider.

from: Bradenton Herald

Debate over state cable bill intensifies

BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@MiamiHerald.com
Posted on Sun, Mar. 25, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - One of the most watched dramas unfolding here isn't on TV -- it's over TV. For the second year running, telecommunications and cable representatives have descended on the state Capitol to battle over The Consumer Choice Act, a bill that rewrites the rules that govern entry into the cable television market.

Note: In NY State both Verizon and the cable companies are against the current legislation which calls for strong build-out requirements, progressive PEG provisions, a level of local control and net neutrality protections. A fourth NY state bill sets a 30 day shot clock and preserves local control, also not favored by Verizon. By the contrast - the Florida Bill is terrible.

From: CED Magazine

From: Miami Herald

Florida Cable Bill Being Pushed Through Legislature

March 22, 2007
By Jim Wyss

A controversial proposal to open up Florida’s cable-TV market to increased competition could win House approval as early as today, even though it’s expected to face some static in the Senate.

from: St. Petersberg Times

Consumers lose with pay-TV bill

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published March 21, 2007

The Florida House would have you believe the barrier to competition in the cable television business is the concessions that companies must make to local governments in exchange for using the public right of way for their wires. The real barrier for companies is the expense of building that network and the time it takes to sign up enough subscribers to recover the cost. That's why the bill pushed again this year by state Rep. Trey Traviesa remains fundamentally flawed.

from: Naples News

House Refuses to Change Video Franchise Bill in Florida

From Associated Press, March 22, 2007
By Bill Kaczor

The House refused on Wednesday to weaken a bill designed to make it easier for telephone and other telecommunications companies to compete for cable television business with existing providers.