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26 May 2006
Verizon wants legal help getting into cable market

by Damon Boughamer
Public Radio Capitol News, serving Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, Penna. (PRCN, 25 May 2006) – Verizon says it’s time for new state rules that would give the telecommunications company more of a foothold in the cable television market.

Republican Senator Dominic Pileggi of Delaware County is about to introduce a bill that Verizon would like. Similar legislation has passed in Texas, Virginia and – most recently – New Jersey.

It would enable Verizon and other companies to obtain franchising rights from the state, rather than borough by borough, township by township, city by city.

Existing cable providers, like Comcast, may argue that’s not fair; since they had to undertake that time-consuming process, why shouldn’t others?

But Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell says times have changed.

"They were the only game in town, so that as they built their network out over many, many years, they were assured of customers. You either went with the cable company or you slapped some rabbit ears up or you put an antenna on top of your house," Mitchell says.

Mitchell says the extra labor would no longer be justified through guaranteed business.

What’s unclear is whether the local flavor of cable would be lost. Mitchell said Verizon would still enable local government access channels, but he mostly emphasized benefits of price, innovation and quality of service.

posted by pubradionews at 08:53