Somerville supporters of free speech, localism, and community media should be aware of new legislation put forward in January 2009 by Senator Panagiotakos of Lowell to benefit Verizon.

This bill would greatly tilt the balance of power in cable TV franchise negotiations away from city governments, and towards cable companies, including Verizon. Currently, each city negotiates contracts with all its cable TV companies to provide for the city’s particular communication needs. Those needs may include customer service guarantees, fiber connections between city buildings, and increased financial support for its public access channels. Under the new bill, cities would not be allowed to deny a cable company’s application for a franchise even if the company refuses to provide for the city’s cable related needs. And if the city does deny the application, the company can sue in court. In addition, it sets new, strict limits on the amount of money a city can request for capital improvements to its cable facilities.

This bill is not even supported by the other cable companies, Comcast and RCN, because it gives unfair market advantage to Verizon as a new cable provider. It does not benefit communities, only Verizon’s bottom line. Verizon’s argument is that it is too difficult to negotiate fairly with each town, despite the fact that the company already has negotiated contracts with 100 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

Mayor Curtatone has publicly invited Verizon to apply for a cable TV franchise in Somerville but so far the company has not been interested. If the bill passed, however, Somerville would be impacted because it would also apply to the other companies when their franchises are up for renewal.

The current system of cable franchising has worked well in MA since 1973. It’s not broken, why “fix” it? Let your state senator and representative know you are against the bill called “An Act Promoting Consumer Choice and Competition for Cable Service” because it does neither, and takes away the right of the community to negotiate thoughtfully and fairly.

To see Senate Bill #1531 visit the link below.
 http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st01/st01531.htm