From the Director:Congressional Action on Telecommunication Bill

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on federal telecommunications legislation any time now and there is plenty at stake for cities. As technology changes and there is an increased reliance on the Internet, local governments are concerned with the preservation of a fair and effective universal service program, as well as meeting our obligations for managing the public’s investment in rights-of-way, cable customer service, land use, and public safety matters. The interoperablity of critical equipment and effective use of the public safety spectrum are crucial communications tools for our first responders to protect our cities.

AWC has been working with the National League of Cities (NLC) to urge local government officials to contact their Representatives and ask that they “Vote No”, on the Communications, Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE / Barton-Rush) Bill.

The bill would “federalize” local government video/cable franchising, potentially limit the benefits of broadband-video competition to more affluent neighborhoods, and more importantly, undermine the ability of local governments to protect consumers and manage public rights-of-way.

More specifically, the bill would strip local governments of our authority to franchise the use of rights-of-way for video/cable services and provide that authority to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, D.C. It is important to note that the FCC has never had the authority to regulate local public rights-of-way and has no expertise concerning local streets, sidewalks, or public safety.

The COPE bill would give the FCC the authority to oversee and second-guess all local rights-of-way management practices and all customer service issues. Incidents occurring in local rights-of-way are public safety concerns and must be addressed immediately and locally. This bill would completely ignore the reality that the FCC is not able to respond in a timely manner to these rights-of-way concerns. The FCC does not have the resources to handle customer complaints nationwide, and local governments are far better situated to respond to residents’ complaints.

The bill would also allow providers of broadband-video service, through a national franchise, to use the public rights-of-way in a community, but pick and choose which neighborhoods they wish to serve while bypassing others. The bill would even allow broadband/video providers to avoid maintaining or upgrading facilities in poorer neighborhoods while affluent neighborhoods receive cutting-edge services and lower prices.

The latest we hear is that the COPE bill won’t be on the House floor until May 25. In addition to cities and other local governments, the police unions are now very engaged and are trying to slow down the bill. The House Judiciary Committee is now asking for a referral of the bill before it goes to the floor - this will slow it down further. However, it is still an uphill battle.

Congressional members need to hear from city officials now. Please contact them by mail, email, or phone and express your concerns with this legislation. NLC has crafted a template that can be used to personalize this issue for your city. To view this template and for more specifics on how to take action, please see our website at www.awcnet.org/telecom.

AWC’s Annual Conference

This year’s Annual Conference will be held in Spokane from June 20-23. We’ve listened to our member’s suggestions and will offer a myriad of workshops to respond to city needs, ranging from communicating with your citizens to public/private partnerships that promote economic development. In addition, more time for networking is also on the agenda.

To find out more details and register for this event, please see www.awcnet.org/awcconference.

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