For those following the cable vs. phone debate in the GA this year, or the Hood vs. Taylor debate right here in The Locker Room, a Budget & Tax News piece about recent legislation enacted by the Indiana legislature provides some useful background material. The North Carolina bill currently under consideration is similar to the Indiana measure.
Quote in favor of the Hood position: the current local-franchise system for approving new competitors in pay TV is “an archaic system that was meant for a time when technologies were segregated, rather than converged? and is ?a barrier to competitive entry into video.? That’s Walter McCormick, head of USTelecom.
Quote in favor of the Taylor position: ?The telephone companies have had a decade to enter the video market,? said Kyle McSlarrow, representing the cable industry. Since some municipalities have indeed speedily approved telephone companies entering the pay TV when asked to do so, ?the existing franchise process is not a barrier to entry.?
