Late yesterday the House Telecom Subcommittee released the bipartisan Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act that would create a 10-year national franchise for video providers. Energy and Commerce committee chair Joe Barton – who leads the committee that has the jurisdiction over communications legislation – had this to say: "This bill will produce an explosion of opportunity for American workers, and American consumers will get an array of video services that were unimagined just a few years ago.” While it is too early to say much about the what’s in the bill, we applaud the committee for keeping progress moving on behalf of consumers who have waited too long to reap the rewards of a truly competitive marketplace for cable.
The subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing this Thursday, March 30, on the bill.
I am fed up with other communities having the choice and competition to keep pricing in line, when we get no choice and have to suck up to the cable providers for their disservice to the community.
Posted by: Doug Groh | March 31, 2006 at 11:24 AM
National franchises are another term for monopoly. National franchises are never in the best interests of a nation, period. National franchise (monoply by any other name)is by definition exclusive, noncompetitive, eliminates competition and always costly to consumers. That is why some companies are spending millions to try and get it. That is very essence of what went wrong with the bell companies remember?
Posted by: Daniel Dearborn | April 03, 2006 at 01:07 PM