Massachusetts Legislators Propose Statewide Cable Franchising

6:05 am on January 12, 2007 | Category: Business, Regulation, Telecom Services, Television

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Two state lawmakers in Massachusetts have filed a new piece of legislation that would increase cable competition, allowing Verizon Communications and other IPTV providers to challenge the dominance of Comcast in the region.

Senator Steven Panagiotakos and Representative James Vallee, both Democrats, are pioneering the Massachusetts Cable Choice and Competition Act, which would speed up the franchising process for new television providers, by allowing them to apply for regulatory licensing on a statewide basis. This would eliminate the cost and hassle of applying separately in each city or town, and could ultimately reduce the cost of all cable TV services.

“Right now we have a franchising scheme that basically perpetrates a monopoly in the cable industry,” Senator Panagiotakos commented, referring to the fact that municipal regulators often hold up new franchise applications for years or indefinitely.

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