State Cable & Telecommunication Deregulation at Alliance for Community Media Annual Conference

1. Telecommunications Law
©2013 Best Best & Krieger LLP

2. Telecommunications Law
State Franchising: An idea whose
time has past, whose benefits have
failed to appear, but whose damages
we see every day.
PRESENTED BY
Joseph Van Eaton
Partner
PREPARED BY
Gerard Lavery Lederer
Of Counsel
©2013 Best Best & Krieger LLP

3. Telecommunications Law
Promises Made in Support of State
Franchising
• Enhanced Consumer Choices
• Lower Prices for Consumers
• Better Quality Programming
• High Quality (union) Jobs
• No Loss of Community Media (claim made in
some states.)

4. Telecommunications Law
History of State Franchising

5. Telecommunications Law
HISTORIC TABLES
PRIOR TO 2005, 10 STATES HAD SOME STATE LEVEL
OVERSIGHT WITH THREE STATES SERVING AS
FRANCHISING AUTHORITY

6. Telecommunications Law
0
5
1 0
1 5
2 0
2 5
3 0
3 5
2
0
0
5
2
0
0
7
2
0
0
9
2
0
1
1
2
0
1
3
Y e a r
S ta te s p a s s in g
s ta te fra n c h is e
le g is la tio n
S ta te s
C o n s id e rin g
le g is la tio n
Majority of States Considering
Legislation Rejected State Franchising

7. Telecommunications Law
Number of States Adopting Legislation
Has Fallen Dramatically
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Year
Numberofstatespassingstate
franchiselegislation

8. Telecommunications Law
ID
AZ
UT
MT
WY
NM
CO
AL
FL
SC
TN
KY
IN
OH
NC
SD
KS
NE
MN
WI
IA
IL
MO
AR
MS
OK
ND
OR
CA NV
WA
TX
PA
ME
VA
NY
CT
WV
MD
NJ
VT
NH
MA
DE
RI
LEGEND
State w/ Franchising Law
State w/ Legis Anticipated
Local Franchising and No legislation yet
Last updated 01/03/07
HI
LA
MI
GA
AK
High-water Mark for Franchise
Consideration was 2007

9. Telecommunications Law
State Franchising Status Today –
Majority Preserve Local Franchise
LEGEND
State with Franchising Law
Local Franchising – Legislation Under Consideration
Local Franchising – No Active Legislation

10. Telecommunications Law
Evaluation of Benefits/Promises

11. Telecommunications Law
$0.00
$10.00
$20.00
$30.00
$40.00
$50.00
$60.00
Source:
NATOA
Before State
Franchise
After State
Franchise
Basic Tier
Digital Tier
Failure of Benefits:
Prices Continue to Rise

12. Telecommunications Law
Failure of Benefits: No Change In
Price Slope Post 2006
Source: FCC

13. Telecommunications Law
Failure of Benefits: Consumer
Satisfaction
• Ninety eight percent
(98%) of local regulators
in state franchise states
when surveyed disagreed
with the statement
“Customer service is
working better now than
it was before the
implementation of state
franchising.”
Source: NATOA98% Disagree 2% Agree

14. Telecommunications Law
Failure of Benefits: 2013 American
Customer Satisfaction Index
• Subscription TV industry satisfaction rose from 66 in 2012 to
68% approval in 2013, as an industry only newspapers and
Internet service providers have a worse industry index score.
• Verizon FiOS came out on top of the rankings for a second
year, while Charter jumped out of the cellar and over Comcast
and Time Warner.
• Call center satisfaction was dismal, with a low, low score of 65
— a full nine points below the ACSI average of 74.
• Study anticipates that next year’s Worst Company In America
bracket will be full of cable and Internet providers.
• Source: http://consumerist.com/2013/05/21/comcast-time-
warner-cable-bring-up-rear-in-cable-customer-satisfaction/

15. Telecommunications Law
Failure of Benefits: Jobs
• According to CWA report, even if there were gains
from state franchising, the approved deal between
Verizon Wireless and the big cable companies will
cost workers and communities 72,000 jobs.
• Its clear there were no such gains
 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the domestic
call center industry continues to shed jobs, losing over
500,000 since 2006.
 According to Bureau of Labor Statistics there were about
309,000 “Line Installer” jobs in 1996, but only 269,100 in
2010. That’s a decrease.

16. Telecommunications Law
Failure of Benefits to Arrive: Choice
• New state entrants have not appeared at all, or only to
a limited degree in some states (North Carolina), and
for largest entrants, competition is limited to telephone
footprint
• Rural areas are losing wireline even in states with
statewide franchising
• Does state franchising make a difference? Verizon
has entered without state franchises and is expected to
pass 18 million premises by 2018 - 70 percent of the
Verizon wireline footprint
• No state has made any significant effort to enforce
build-out requirements

17. Telecommunications Law
Losses That Can Be Documented

18. Telecommunications Law
Failure of Benefits: 60% of States Cut
PEG Support
5 States zero out PEG Support
5 States require provider to match Incumbent until franchise
has expired or 2012, whichever is sooner.
7 States require state franchisee to match incumbent or
provide set percentage in support.
2 states provide support in a new format that cannot fit in
neat description.

19. Telecommunications Law
Failure of Benefits: Loss of Centers
• Over 100 PEG centers have closed
 Large majority are public access.
 California has lost no less than 51
• Nearly half of PEG centers who
provided financial information to
Buske Group reported an average
funding decrease of nearly 40
percent 2005-2010
 20 percent reported in-kind support
has been cut back or eliminated
during this five-year period
• 165 PEG centers reported that they
expect elimination or reductions in
funding within 3 years
Source: Buske Group Report

20. Telecommunications Law
Contact
Information
Best Best & Krieger
1155 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 1000
Washington DC 20036
Phone: (202) 785-0600
Fax: (202) 785-1234
Cell: (202) 664-4621
Website: www.bbklaw.com
Gerard Lavery Lederer
Gerard.Lederer@bbklaw.com
Joseph Van Eaton
Joseph.VanEaton@bbklaw.com