Ch 7, the News Station

[Garrett Wollman]

<<On Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:29:05 -0400, Anthony Abruzzese <tony.abruzzese@gmail.com> said:

> If the existing agreements were expiring, then the RCN work on their
> system may have been negotiated in to a new agreement. Verizon would
> be allowed to enter the market with the expiration of any
> exclusivity clauses in the cable franchise agreements.

Exclusivity clauses in cable franchise agreements are preempted by the
Telecommunications Act of 1996.  All prospective video providers must
be given market access on similar terms.  Most of the arguments over
cable franchising have focused on a few major (non-preempted) areas of
concern: funding for PEG channel ("cable access") production
facilities, cost of pole attachment/underground facilities
construction (e.g., police details and road resurfacing), and
requirements to wire un-/underserved neighborhoods.

-GAWollman