(via Benton Foundation Headlines)
Faltering Telecom Bill May Spur FCC Action on Video Services
(Wednesday, August 2) “The prospect that Congress may not pass telecom overhaul legislation this year could spur the FCC to help the Bell telecommunications companies more rapidly enter the video market.
The FCC is considering two potential vehicles for obtaining regulatory relief, although action is not imminent.
One item concerns municipalities’ review of cable franchises, and the other addresses the definition of Internet-enabled services, including video programming.
The proposals could put the FCC at the core of faltering telecom legislation by undercutting municipal review of the Bells’ video services.
The House-passed bill, H.R. 5252 — which would pre-empt municipal cable franchises with a nationwide franchise — is stuck in the Senate over the issue of whether some telecom firms could be empowered to have tighter control over network providers’ content.”
Read the article here.
