State lawmakers say they may try to force giant cable-casters and a giant telephone company into negotiations to try to pry an agreement out of the reluctant industries.
The telecommunications industry is roiled up over a proposed law that would give AT&T a statewide video franchise. But the phone company and the cable companies have each blamed the other for not coming to the negotiation table. So, members of the House Democratic leadership say they may try to put a mediator into the mix within the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, a small task force looking at broadband computer access as an economic tool may weigh in on the controversy. Representative Mark Maddox chairs the legislature’s Broadband Task Force. He says even though the group didn’t intend to review the bill, it will meet in the next couple of weeks to discuss the measure because of the rural access issue.
Representatives of rural areas say when it comes to high-speed computer access, they’ve been left out by both telephone companies and cable providers. Representative Maddox, who’s from Weakley County in West Tennessee, says it’s a common theme among rural legislators who want to make sure they’re on the evolving cusp of technology.
“I believe that broadband access in this decade, is just as important as rural electrification in the Thirties and building roads in the Seventies and Eighties was, to industry development in the rural areas. We’re going to have to compete globally now, we no longer just compete locally, and in order to compete globally, we’re going to have to have broadband.”
Supporters of the AT&T video bill say it will increase competition, and an unspoken argument is that greater computer access would parallel video access. That’s been the experience in big cities where cable companies develop high-tech delivery systems into their service areas.
AT&T wants the bill decided by the end of this legislative session. Cable companies are fighting for more time.
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