i want my iptv

verizon lobbies congress to change video franchising process

AS IT GEARS UP TO DELIVER TELEVISION services in competition with big cable companies, Verizon Communications Inc. is seeking federal law reform to make it easier to secure video franchises through local governments.

Verizon argues that securing a video franchise is a much longer process than what cable companies face to receive authorization to sell phone service.

Although cable operators entering the phone market must obtain state certificates, “the entry process is relatively simple and straightforward in contrast to the video franchise process, which requires multiple negotiations and is often a process that takes many, many months to complete,” says Link Hoewing, assistant vice president of Internet technology policy and business support planning with Verizon.

Verizon, the biggest phone company in the United States, is building a fiber network in parts of 14 states to deliver hundreds of TV programs, fast Internet access and other advanced services. It plans to bring the network to 3 million homes by the end of the year.

In testimony on Capitol Hill before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Verizon Retail Markets President Robert Ingalls said the “franchise process is unnecessary and will delay effective video competition for years unless a federal solution is enacted soon.”

Congress is considering Verizon’s request as it examines reform of communications law.

“As we look toward modernizing the Communications Act, we will need to consider what the appropriate statutory framework should be for IP-delivered video services,” Rep. Joe Barton, the Texas Republican chairing the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said during a hearing that explored how new technology is changing video services. “Should they be governed by the existing provisions in the Communications Act, such as the franchising, must-carry and program access rules, even though those provisions were drafted without IP technology in mind?”

Verizon reportedly also is taking its case to state legislatures, but the company is not commenting on that strategy.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the Washington, D.C. group representing cable companies, believes “like services should be regulated in a like fashion,” says NCTA spokesman Paul Rodriguez. “We think they ought to have to get a franchise just like we did.”

Hoewing says Verizon does not oppose paying franchise fees or carrying so-called PEG (public access education government) channels, which include programming delivered by schools, local governments and the public, but wants to get into the business more quickly. “The faster we can get in, the more likely we are going to be successful building a market share that will generate revenue,” Hoewing adds. Under federal law, cable companies must contribute up to 5 percent of their gross revenue to franchise fees.

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines