roundtable: PEG Access Wins with HR 1555

roundtable: PEG Access Wins with HR 1555

PEG Access Wins with HR 1555

AllianceCM@aol.com
Fri, 4 Aug 1995 18:53:45 -0400 

Date: Fri, 4 Aug 1995 18:53:45 -0400
From: AllianceCM@aol.com
Message-Id: <950804185344_48160659@aol.com>
To: ROUNDTABLE@cni.org
Subject: PEG Access Wins with HR 1555


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 4, 1995	
CONTACT: BARRY FORBES (202) 393-2650

PASSAGE OF HOUSE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILL PROVIDES PARTIAL VICTORY FOR
SCHOOLS, CITIES, AND NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Schools, local communities, and non-profit organizations today won small 
but important victories in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 
1555, "The Communications Act of 1995," passed on a vote of 305 to 117.  
The bill aims to open up local and long-distance telephone, cable 
television, broadcasting, equipment manufacturing, and electronic 
publishing markets to competition.

In addition to allowing telephone companies and cable operators to enter
each others' businesses, the House bill ensures that non-commercial,
non-profit Public, Educational and Governmental ("PEG") access cable
television centers will share in the tremendous growth of the "information
superhighway."  The bill would require that all forms of wireline video
delivery services, whether built by cable or telephone companies, would
generally be required to provide educational, governmental, and public 
(PEG) access when local governments request it. Specific regulatory 
guidelines would be left to the Federal Communications Commission to 
develop and monitor.

Barry Forbes, Executive Director of the Alliance for Community Media 
stated, "I am extremely gratified that the U.S. House of Representatives 
has, in effect, endorsed television distance learning programs, local 
C-SPAN-like coverage, and the programming produced by churches, 
synagogues, YMCAs, Chambers of Commerce, United Way agencies, local 
political candidates, theater groups and civic organizations. One of 
the great untold stories of the past few decades is the tremendous 
success of PEG access," Forbes stated.  "In the communities where it 
exists, it has served as classroom, Town Hall, Community Bulletin Board, 
and auditorium. In light of the recent purchases of CBS by Westinghouse 
and ABC by Disney, we're somewhat comforted that Congress will allow 
public access to at least one lane on the so-called 'information 
superhighway,'" continued Forbes.  "PEG access centers produce more 
than 20,000 hours of programming each week  -- that's more than CBS, 
NBC, ABC, Fox, and PBS combined.  This programming is produced by our 
teachers, our local leaders, and our friends and neighbors in our own 
communities, rather than dreamed up by the marketing department of a 
light bulb company or cartoon distributor."

The Alliance also supported three floor amendments to H.R. 1555, two of 
which passed.  An amendment introduced by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and 
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), which would give local governments continuing 
authority to manage their local rights-of-way, passed on a vote of 338-86.  
Another amendment, introduced by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Ron 
Klink (D-PA), would preserve current limitations on the number of media 
outlets a company may own in any single media market, and on the 
percentage of the total American broadcast market that can be entered 
by a single broadcast owner.  This amendment passed on a vote of 228-195.  
An amendment proposed by Rep. Markey and Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) to 
maintain currently codified cable rate regulation was defeated on a 
vote of 148-275.

As passed, H.R. 1555 provides that PEG center programming will be carried 
on so-called "video dialtone" networks to the same extent that they are
currently available on cable systems.  "Video dialtone" is similar to 
cable in that it would provide video programming over coaxial or fiber-
optic wirelines.  Unlike cable, where programming is selected exclusively 
by the cable operating company, video dialtone channel capacity would 
have to be offered to any person or entity that wanted it.  Some of the 
Regional Bell Operating Companies have already begun testing, or are 
planning to test, video dialtone systems in various markets around the 
country, while other Regional Bells have jettisoned video dialtone 
altogether in favor of traditional cable systems.

"With this provision in the bill, we are looking forward to tremendous 
growth in PEG center use," commented Forbes.  "As the number of 
subscribers to wireline television services increases, more people will 
see what they like on PEG access and want to be a part of it.  Already, 
many of our PEG access centers are becoming full-service "community media 
centers" where people without equipment can get low-cost access to a wide 
range of telecommunications services.  This includes internet services 
and electronic databases, as well as television programming production.  
We are pleased that many members of the House share this vision of the 
future."

Public, educational and governmental access centers on cable television 
have existed since the inception of the cable industry in the mid-1960's.  
Local access -- and the equipment, services and facilities to make such 
access meaningful -- is often requested by local franchising authorities 
as partial compensation for use of the local community's rights-of-way -- 
the land underneath streets, highways and parks. Congress federalized 
local franchising procedures in the 1984 Cable Act, giving local 
communities express authority to ask for PEG access as part of a local 
franchise.  Since then, PEG access on cable television has spread 
throughout the country.  In communities with no local broadcast station, 
the PEG center is often the only local programming outlet.  These centers 
have been key in providing residents of these smaller markets with news, 
educational and public affairs programming.

The bill now goes to the House-Senate conference, where the leadership 
will try and resolve the differences between it the Senate's version, 
S. 652.  The Alliance will be working to retain the House provisions 
regarding PEG access and jettison the weaker Senate PEG access provision, 
which would offer lower-cost access rates, without equipment, facilities 
or services, to a selected number of PEG centers.  The Alliance will also 
continue its work with a broad range of education, non-profit, religious, 
and other public interest groups to ensure that schools, libraries, 
public health clinics, and other non-profit entities are not prohibited 
by cost from having full access to the "information superhighway."

"We still have a number of significant concerns about the bill," Forbes 
said, "such as the fact that it substantially deregulates cable prices 
before any meaningful competition develops, makes cable service complaint 
procedures almost impossible to initiate,  provides no non-profit or 
educational access to advanced telecommunications services, and gives 
new broadcast spectrum to currently-licensed broadcast stations without 
any allocation to public, non-profit, or non-commercial uses.  We are 
hopeful that some of these problems will be fixed in the more reflective 
atmosphere of the Conference Committee."

The Alliance for Community Media is a national, non-profit membership
organization committed to assuring everyone's access to electronic media. 
The Alliance accomplishes this by disseminating public information, 
advancing a positive legislative and regulatory environment, building 
coalitions, and supporting local organizing. Founded in 1976, the 
Alliance represents the interests of over 950 public, educational and 
governmental ("PEG") access organizations and local origination cable 
services throughout the country. The Alliance also represents the 
interests of local religious, community, charitable and other 
organizations throughout the country who utilize PEG access channels 
and facilities to speak to their memberships and their larger 
communities.

-- 30 --
_________________________________________________
Alliance for Community Media
666 11th Street, NW, Suite 806
Washington, DC 20001-4542
Voice:	(202) 393-2650
Fax:		(202) 393-2653
"Ensuring everyone's access to electronic media
since 1976."
_________________________________________________

<alliancecm@aol.com>

[CNI Home Page]