Missouri lawmakers approve cable competition bill Thursday

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- First came the TV antenna, then cable, then satellites. Soon, some Missourians could have a fourth option for their television service -- the phone company.

Legislators gave final approval Thursday to legislation intended to spur video competition by making it easier for telecommunications companies such as AT&T to start offering television service in Missouri.

The bill lets companies provide TV service anywhere in Missouri with the approval of the state Public Service Commission -- a one-stop process that does away with the need to negotiate TV franchise deals with each community.

San Antonio-based AT&T Inc., the state's largest local telephone service provider, has pledged to spend at least $100 million to expand its TV service in Missouri, should the bill pass.

The Senate's 32-2 vote Thursday sends the bill to Gov. Matt Blunt, who pledged to sign it into law and predicted it would bring "greater choices and lower prices for cable services." The House passed the bill 143-4 on Wednesday.

Cable television currently is provided in Missouri through about 550 separate franchise agreements with local governments. As a result of the bill, cable companies could cut off those deals in favor the presumably simpler state approval.

Eleven states, including neighboring Kansas, already have similar laws or policies.

"We intend to roll the service out as soon as possible, hopefully this year," starting in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas, said AT&T spokesman Kerry Hibbs.

The bill would require AT&T to expand its TV service to at least 25 percent of its households within three years of when it starts offering the service. It would have to offer the TV service to at least 50 percent of its households within either six years of the start date, but could get an extension if fewer than 30 percent of those already offered the service actually subscribe to it.

Critics said it could be a long time before telephone companies start offering TV service in parts of rural Missouri.

"The vast land mass of Missouri is not going to see telephone cable service -- it's going to be in the urban areas and more densely populated higher-income areas where it's more profitable to build this system," said Gary Markenson, executive director of the Missouri Municipal League.

Consumer protections

Because local cable franchises could be invalidated, the bill could lead to an end of some locally negotiated consumer protections, such as boards to mediate customer complaints against cable companies, said John Coffman, a lobbyist for the AARP and Consumers Council of Missouri.

The bill also would allow incumbent cable companies to quit funding local public access channels in the future, although all video service companies still could be required to carry such channels.

Coffman claimed the consumer protections are "woefully inadequate," asserting "the phone companies and cable companies ganged up on consumers" in backing the bill.

The companies disagreed.

"Any time you have competition, it makes everyone sharper, and I think it will make cable service even better," said Greg Harrison, executive director of Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association.

The Missouri Communications Alliance, which led a Capitol rally for the bill last month, praised its passage as a victory for consumers.

"When the infrastructure is in place, consumers will benefit by having access to the newest, most innovative technologies, better service and lower prices," said spokesman Todd Abrajano.

After AT&T failed to win passage of a state video franchise bill last year, it entered into more intense negotiations with the cable TV association. As the 2007 session got under way, sponsor Sen. John Griesheimer, R-Washington, announced a compromise had been reached, and the bill moved relatively quickly through the Senate and House.

The cable companies did not get all of their preferred positions, however. Lawmakers refused to impose on satellite TV services new fees equivalent to those already paid by cable companies and now also to be required of telecommunications companies that offer TV service.

Lawmakers also rejected language that would have invalidated the whole bill if any part of it is struck down in court.

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TV bill is SB284.

On the Net:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov