11-14-1988 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Conference Report NATOA - Miami, FL September 25 - 28 1988 Submitted by Holly Hansen The NATOA (National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors) Conference is primarily targeted at getting information out to regulators of cable companies (cities). The majority of attendees at NATOA are city representatives, including cable administrators, and city council and cable commission members. The major issues discussed at this year's NATOA Conference were National Cable Policy and what areas the NLC (National League of Cities) should be lobbying Congress for in taking a second look at sections of the Cable Act of 1984 and the possibility of telcos (telephone companies) entering the cable market. This year's NATOA Conference was attended by several representatives from both cable and telephone companies.in addition to the usual audience of city representatives. Telephone company entry into the cable business is still at a philosophical stage for the most part, except in some rural areas where local phone companies have been granted permission to provide video services. Congress ultimately holds the power in deciding if telcos will be allowed to enter the video services market. Points to keep in mind in this "battle" between the telcos and cable companies include: 1. Cable is basically a monopoly and regulators should be concerned with such issues as cross -ownership, vertical integration, and concentration of ownership. The public may be well served in the short term by a second company offering better rates (this also includes cable company over -builds), but probably only one company would remain in business in this type of situation. 2. If telcos are allowed entry into the cable market, they should be subject to the same requirements and restrictions that apply to cable operators. In the case of telcos would this mean that they would be regulated at a state or federal level and that cities would lose local regulatory powers? This question stands unanswered at this point in time. 3. With the advent of HDTV and the compatability of fiber optics to carry the wider band width required by any of the HDTV systems being considered, where does this put cable companies and coaxial cable? It could possibly take the phone companies up to 50 years to completely replace their copper wire with fiber, and as prices of fiber and copper are expected to cross- over somewhere between 1991-1994, this should make fiber attractive to cable companies as well as the phone companies. Current NLC Cable Policy supports the entry of telcos into cable, but says they must be subject to the same rules and regulations as cable operators. NLC Policy also is calling for the federal government to limit cross -ownership of cable systems by other media interests and to establish limitations on multiple ownership of cable systems in order to prevent concentration of ownership at both national and regional levels. Other positions advocated by NATOA members include immunity legislation that would protect cities from damages resulting in First Amendment lawsuits such as turning down an applicant seeking a franchise (such as the challenge we saw in St. Paul this summer, although in that case the city did win). Another suggestion I find intriguing