said by vpoko :

Where do you draw the line as to what's considered TV? What if I watch live streaming video with RealPlayer? Is that TV?

I think what we're going to find is with high-speed networks becoming a reality, a lot of these local regulations like franchise agreements are going to be very cumbersome to enforce. I'd love to hate ILEC's on this because they ARE just motivated the profits, but the reality is local laws are poorly suited to regulating a national industry.

said by DMS1 :

This can only be a good thing. Franchise agreements exist to line the government's pockets and keep the old-boy network happy. They have no place in the modern age of multiple providers competing for business. Level the playing field and providers will have to compete on quality of service alone which can only benefit the consumer.

said by DaveNJ :

Are you out of your mind? Without agreements, we wouldnt have service in our entire towm, internet access, Channel 8, Answer the phone in 3 mins or less. Plus numerous service standards. It wasnt until we had these in our towns agreements did we get them. DSL IPTV just isnt going to cut it, and will have a hard times competing again regular cable.

said by Cat Food:

Franchise agreements were originally established because of physical limitations. I.e., municipalities couldn't have 100 companies stringing lines through town because they didn't have enough space and/or right-of-way and cable co.s weren't going to invest to do it unless they had exclusivity via a franchise. With satellite, fiber, dsl and cable all capable of delivering TV, infrastructure constraints aren't an issue anymore and so franchise agreements are obsolete. I say let the market run.

said by broadbanderdemander:

I don't understand how people in this forum can treat local governments like their profit-grubbing whores bent on making money. That's what the other side is, the private companies. Local governments simply want enough money to provide for simple town services and escalating costs. Eliminating franchising hurts a local government's pockets, and guess what, everybody, when a local government is hurt, than YOU, the citizen are hurt. Potholes, sewage overages, poor education, lack of resources, these things are what happens when local governments get squeezed out of the money intake picture by too much privitization. SBC aren't going to teach your kids how to read. People in this country are very strange, when asked about taxes, they say they hate taxes and government takes all of their money. Yet when asked about schools and road maintenance, they say they want the best schools with no expense spared and safe, easy to drive on roads. Really, does it take much to understand that franchise agreements are one of a series of ways in which a local government can receive some much needed funding that neither raises taxes on individual members of the community nor forsakes the services of the city?

said by UofMiamiGrad :

We get squeezed regardless. Come on, our freakin cable bills, etc go up anyway, so we get hit on that end. And you are saying that if we eliminate franchise agreements we'll get hit, when we already are by the companies providing services to us. I'd rather give money to my local gov't then some big business if it's to benefit my town. At least the local gov't won't spend the money elsewhere, namely another state or town, like a big company can and will do.