California Senate Approves Statewide Franchising Legislation

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California Senate Approves Statewide Franchising Legislation

7:45 am on September 1, 2006 | Category: Business, Telecom Services, Television, Regulation

Telephone providers are one step closer to being given the free run of California’s cable market, with Senators approving a statewide franchising bill by a margin of 33-to-4.

AT&T and Verizon have lobbied heavily for the new legislation for the past several months now, spending millions of dollars on a statewide advertising campaign. If approved by a final vote in the state Assembly, the bill will allow telecom carriers to offer fiber optic IPTV service to their customers, without having to seek individual regulatory approval in each municipality.

The legislation has been opposed by local governments throughout California, and initially by cable companies. Existing pay-TV operators ultimately ended up supporting the idea, however, as it would allow them to opt out of their current local agreements in favor of statewide franchises.

“Everyone finally realized that perhaps the best thing was to let go of animosities and go forward to a new future,” said Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk, after legislators adopted the hundreds of amendments proposed by Assembly Speaker, Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles.