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| Cable Competition; clearing some muddy water | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 18 2007, 04:45 PM (297 Views) | |
| Mrs.M | Oct 18 2007, 04:45 PM Post #1 |
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Veteran
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Did a little searching It seems the Livonia finger pointers and naysayers weren't being very open and truthful about matters regarding cable competition. It also seems no city counil member brought AT & T into Livonia, rather a NEW State Law did. Some people try to take the credit for all kinds of matters, but won't admit when they were in error. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article.../704120309/1004 AT&T ready to take on the cable television competition April 12, 2007 BY ZACHARY GORCHOW FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Livonia will be one of the first communities in the state where AT&T plans to challenge the dominance of cable in offering channels not available with an antenna. AT&T has applied under a new state law enacted in December to offer television services in Livonia, which has one cable provider, Bright House Networks. Joe Steele, AT&T Michigan's spokesman, would not say whether Livonia was the first Michigan city in which AT&T had applied to offer service, citing the need to protect company strategy. "We're excited to be taking the first step to bringing competition to the residents there," Steele said. "They've been without competition for too long." Most communities have only one cable provider and AT&T hopes to tap into consumer frustration by offering an alternative. AT&T has promised hundreds of millions of dollars in investing in fiber-optic lines throughout the state so it can offer television service, although it has declined to say what markets in which it intends to compete. Livonia City Council President Jim McCann said AT&T leaders had told city officials Livonia would be one of the first. The city was one of the few to support the new law, and AT&T also installed the necessary infrastructure in 2006. Most local governments objected to the new law because of the possible loss of revenue and reduced ability to require certain services from providers. Under the old law, each municipality negotiated a franchise fee with the cable provider. Now, that franchise fee is uniform across the state. "The community was looking for alternatives," McCann said, explaining why Livonia supported the new law. Bob McCann, president of Bright House's Michigan division, said the company has anticipated AT&T would enter the Livonia market and is confident customers will stick with it, saying most of Bright House's customers who leave cable to try satellite return. McCann is a cousin of Jim McCann. Bob McCann said he did not see Bright House changing prices as a result of AT&T's activity. Livonia has until today to respond to AT&T's application. Contact ZACHARY GORCHOW at 313-223-4536 or zgorchow@freepress.com. |
| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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