Cable franchise ordinance under discussion

At its meeting Monday night, Springfield City Council considered the Multichannel Video Services Franchise ordinance.

The ordinance would allow new companies to negotiate a build-out schedule with the city. If negotiations are unsuccessful, new companies would have to adhere to the same build-out schedule that was followed by TeleCable, the predecessor to Mediacom, when it first installed cable service 1978-1982.

Assistant City Attorney Nancy Yendes said the ordinance creates a level playing field for potential cable providers.

“This sets down the rules for all who compete,” Yendes told council. “If the requirements are lessened for anyone in the business, anyone else in that business can come to council and ask for the same relaxation of that requirement.”

She added that it also ensures that at some point, “people will have a choice, regardless of where they live.”

AT&T, the most notable potential competitor, objects to the proposed ordinance, saying it is too restrictive and gives the incumbent cable provider an advantage. The company asked instead for looser requirements – a model similar to that used to encourage competition in the phone industry after AT&T’s monopoly was broken more than 20 years ago.

“The master ordinance is a barrier to new entrants who want to compete for cable TV in the community,” said Kevin Vossen, AT&T Missouri spokesman. “Cable’s network is already built, and it already has a substantial customer base. It’s much riskier to make capital investment when there’s no guarantee of a customer base.”

A Mediacom representative told council that the company is in favor of the ordinance.

See SBJ’s Sept. 25 issue for more from the Sept. 18 council meeting.