By Michael Martinez
(Wednesday, May 24) The sponsor of a measure to overhaul Tennessee's cable rules to allow for statewide video franchises has decided to withdraw the bill.
State Rep. Steve McDaniel told reporters in Nashville that he is taking his proposal "off notice" until 2008. His bill would have allowed video service providers to enter the state's market in one fell swoop by applying for statewide franchises. They currently must reach separate deals with localities.
McDaniel told AP that he was disappointed by the way local governments had been lobbying against the bill. The Republican lawmaker said he will not revive the proposal until he reaches a deal with those groups.
The delay is likely to frustrate AT&T, which has been pushing hard for statewide franchising reform in the Volunteer State.
AT&T lobbyist Jim Spears told The Nashville City Paper earlier this month that his company would not ask again for statewide franchising if a bill is not passed this year. He also said "hundreds of millions" of dollars AT&T planned to invest in Tennessee are contingent on securing a statewide franchising deal.
AT&T Tennessee President Marty Dickens told the newspaper on Wednesday that the firm will "re-evaluate its strategy for investment and video competition in Tennessee." He said consumers would suffer as a result of the bill being delayed.
Statewide video-franchising laws have been enacted in several states in recent years. But the companies pushing them say they are frustrated by how slow the legislative process is taking in some states. Last month, Verizon Communications suspended its applications for local franchises in Massachusetts. The company is lobbying aggressively for legislation to allow statewide deals.
Two key Democratic members of the state's congressional delegation, Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Edward Markey, have urged the company to finish building high-speed Internet infrastructure in Massachusetts. Kerry, a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said last month that he hopes Verizon's plans to suspend its franchise applications are not "part of some cynical bargaining agreement" to get a statewide franchise.
Verizon has maintained that it will continue to build a fiber-optic network there and that it also intends to secure more Massachusetts franchises this year.
Franchising legislation also is pending in Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Florida legislature cleared a franchising bill to GOP Gov. Charlie Crist earlier this month. Opponents of the measure are pressuring Crist to veto it.
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