FCC Drops Cable Franchise Vote
Rule Could Have Given Cable Operators 90-Day Windows For Franchise Renewals
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 9/8/2007 2:24:00 AM
Washington – The Federal Communications Commission won’t be voting next Tuesday (Sept. 11) on new local franchising rules for cable incumbents as FCC chairman Kevin Martin deleted the item without explanation Friday afternoon.
The vote was intended to fulfill a promise made last December to traditional cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner that they would eventually be covered by franchising rules created for phone companies and other entities with pre-existing authority to occupy local rights of way.
The key rule was that local governments had to act within 90 days on phone company cable service applications. Cable incumbents were promised the same 90-day window for their franchise renewals. Cable franchise agreements can run 10 to 15 years in duration.
The cable industry protested that the phone companies didn’t need special rules because the record did not demonstrate that they were having difficulty entering the market. Cable also questioned the utility of the 90-day rule because local governments could deny a franchise on day 89 if the new entrant’s service proposals were unacceptable.
Local government have gone to federal court to strike down the FCC’s rules.
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