FCC Comes to Keller to Weigh Texas' Cable Model

SHOULD THE US FOLLOW US?: FCC COMES TO KELLER TO WEIGH TEXAS' CABLE MODEL
[SOURCE: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, AUTHOR: Aman Batheja abatheja@star-telegram.com]
The FCC convened a hearing in Keller (TX) on Friday to try and get a clear picture of the dynamics of the cable industry. Instead, commissioners received widely conflicting descriptions of the marketplace, with phone companies saying there are unreasonable barriers to entering the TV business and cable companies saying that competition for customers is alive and well. "We're hearing completely different messages on this panel," Jonathan Adelstein, one of the commissioners, said at the end of the two-hour hearing. Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief told the commissioners that the statewide franchise could become a model for nationwide video franchise legislation. He said Congress should hold to the key provisions of the Texas law, including the ways in which municipalities retain franchising fees. Texas would hate to see a national law that was less friendly to cities than Texas' legislation, he said. Sharon King, president and CEO of Dallas Community Television, said she supported increased competition as long as video providers are required to provide support for local public-access channels. The statewide franchise rules in Texas had jeopardized the Dallas public-access channel's local franchise dollars, which represent half of its funding, she said.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/386551/should_the_us_follow_us_f...

See also --
* Push for ‘a la carte' cable picks up steam
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060213/martin13.art.htm