Alliance for Community Media

The Alliance for Community Media Board of Directors endorsed the National Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors “Broadband Principles” at its Board meeting last month.

Broadband Principles

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors (NATOA) has adopted and released formal Broadband Principles encouraging the immediate development of a National Broadband Strategy. The ten Broadband Principles, created by a task force of NATOA members, outline the critical need for widespread deployment of next-generation broadband networks and necessary steps to achieve this goal:

• NATOA calls for the immediate nationwide deployment of advanced broadband networks.
• True broadband requires high capacity bandwidth in both directions.
• Fiber to the premises is the preferred broadband option.
• High capacity broadband connectivity must be affordable and widely accessible.
• High capacity broadband requires open access networks.
• Network neutrality is vital to the future of the Internet.
• All networks and users have the right and obligation to non –discriminatory interconnection.
• Local governments must be involved to ensure that local needs and interests are met.
• Local governments must be allowed to build and operate broadband networks.
• A variety of options must be considered to cover deployment costs.

For more information on NATOA’s Broadband Principals, see
http://www.natoa.org/Documents/BroadbandPreamble%26Principles.pdf

Now viewable online in one file at blip.tv (1 hour 57 minutes):

The House staff’s 5-switched-camera coverage of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Hearing on Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Access to Cable Television, September 17, 2008.

Also available here broken out into 18 separate YouTube clips, annotated and in chronological order.

DVDs for cablecasting on PEG access channels are available from the Alliance for Community Media — call 202-393-2650 x 12.

For immediate release
September 18, 2008

U.S. House Subcommittee will ask FCC to examine harm to public, educational, and governmental access television

In response to testimony from Alliance for Community Media members yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government voiced strong bi-partisan support for public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access for communities and asked the FCC to examine whether AT&T and other cable operators are in compliance with the Cable Act of 1984.

In opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Congressman Jose Serrano  (NY-D) and Congressman Mark Kirk (IL-R) expressed concern that local PEG access channels are in danger of declining or disappearing as a result of the current regulatory and business environment.

Barbara Popovic, Executive Director of Chicago Access Network Television, representing the Alliance, and Michael Max Knobbe, president of the Alliance’s New York chapter, and Executive Director of BronxNet, presented testimony that detailed multiple problems with PEG access channel delivery arising out of recent actions by the FCC, state legislatures, the cable industry and AT&T.  Problems that were outlined included a loss of funding and channels, movement of PEG to higher numbered channels (referred to as “channel slamming”), reduced quality and functionality of existing channels, and loss or reductions in public cable drops to schools, libraries and other public centers. Regarding the issues of AT& T’s treatment of PEG channels, Ms. Popovic said “Bottom line, AT&T, the company that promotes ‘choice’ in cable franchising, is giving viewers no choice when it comes to PEG.”  Mr. Knobbe discussed the problems associated with channel slamming, which include additional costs to consumers to view PEG channels.

FCC Media Bureau Chief Monica Desai agreed that at least one of these practices may be illegal, stating “We believe that placing PEG channels on any tier other than the basic service tier may be a violation of the statute.”  When asked why the FCC was not enforcing that provision of the statute, Ms. Desai indicated that the FCC needed a formal complaint in order to act, and had not received any. In response, Subcommittee member Adam Schiff (CA-D) stated that he believed the FCC had authority to enforce the law whether or not they’d received complaints.

In closing, Subcommittee Chairman Serrano (NY-D) and Representative Kirk (IL-R) announced that they would send a letter to the FCC asking it to deal with the issues raised at the hearing.

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The Alliance for Community Media is the national nonprofit membership organization representing the interests of over 3000 Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) access organizations.  For more information contact Helen A. Soule at 202-393-2650, or hsoule [at] alliancecm [dot] org .

Written Statements & Testimony for Download:

Congressman Jose. E Serrano, Chairman

Monica Desai, FCC Media Bureau Chief

Barbara Popovic, Alliance for Community Media - written; oral

Appendix A: Alliance “Assessing the Damage” Survey Report

Appendix B: ILNATOA “Delivery of PEG Programming at Commercial Quality”

Howard Symons, NCTA

Michael Max Knobbe, BronxNet

On behalf of the National Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to announce that Helen Soulé has been named as the Interim Executive Director of the Alliance for Community Media.  Soulé will start in this position on September 1, 2008.

At this time, circumstances prevent Helen Soulé from accepting the position on a full-time basis. It is our fullest intent for Dr. Soulé to become the full-time Executive Director of the organization prior to the end of the year.

Soulé has served as Executive Director of Cable in the Classroom where she promoted and enhanced the use of media and technology for learning in homes, schools and communities. Prior to that, Soulé was Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser in the Office Postsecondary Education of the United States Department of Education and Director of the Office of Technology for the Mississippi Department of Education. Soulé is the founder and first Chair of the State Educational Technology Directors Association.

Soulé is the recipient of numerous awards, including Cable World’s “Women with Clout” Award, Meritorious Service Award from the Alliance for Media Literate America, State Education Technology Director’s Pioneer Award by the State Education Technology Directors’ Association and Converge Magazine’s 30 “Shapers of the Future.”  Soulé holds a PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Mississippi and a masters in Educational Administration from Mississippi State University.

We’re fortunate to have someone with Helen’s expertise to lead the Alliance for Community Media during this important time in the industry, and to further our important mission of ensuring access to electronic media for all to communicate, build communities and keep us connected.

Sincerely,

Matt Schuster
Chair, ACM Board of Directors
Alliance For Community Media

Matt Schuster
MetroTV Manager
Office of the Mayor, Louisville Metro Government
527 W Jefferson St - 6th Floor
Louisville, KY 40202
www.louisvilleky.gov/metrotv

Alliance Invited to House Sub-Committee Hearing

Our “Keep Us Connected” campaign has resulted in an invitation to testify at an upcoming House Sub-Committee hearing.   Congressman Jose Serrano (NY) , chair of the Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services & General Government Subcommittee, called the hearing after Alliance members from New York made visits to their Representatives’ and Senators’ offices during the Alliance Conference in July.

The purpose of the hearing is to explore whether PEG programming is in danger of declining or disappearing in our communities as a result of cable television’s current regulatory and business environment.

In the invitation to the Alliance, PEG programming was described as “essential to our communities as an outlet for free speech, local information and opinions, and emergency communications.  This hearing will help policy makers gain knowledge of what is necessary to protect this important programming.”

Barbara Popovic, from Chicago Access Network Television, will represent the Alliance to present a national perspective, and Michael Max Knobbe from BRONXNET will provide testimony from the local access perspective.  The committee has also requested testimony from FCC staff and the cable industry.

Hearing Details

Date:  September 17, 2008
Time:  10:00 AM
Location:  2220 Rayburn Building

Thanks to the Public Policy Work Group for their work designing the campaign, and to the Alliance members from New York for telling our story so persuasively.  Great work, all!

Deborah Vinsel
Interim Executive Director
Alliance for Community Media

For Immediate Release
July 16, 2008
Contact: Matt Schuster
502-262-4986

Deficiencies in the U-Verse PEG system confirmed by AT&T

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 16, 2008) — AT&T met with representatives of the Alliance for Community Media (ACM) on Thursday, July 8, to demonstrate the company’s U-Verse system. The demonstration confirmed multiple problems with U-Verse which were acknowledged by AT&T’s representative, Chris Boyer. These include a delay in accessing PEG programming, inferior picture quality, lack of DVR functionality, and no support for closed captioning or second audio programming. Continue Reading »

The Alliance for Community Media today is asking the Platform Committees of the Democratic and Republican National Committees to embrace policies protecting local cable franchising authorities’ ability to require PEG access channels and adequate mechanisms for supporting them within their franchise agreements.  From the Alliance’s Platform Statement:

In summary, the ACM proposes a national policy of “community reinvestment” through Public, Educational, and Government access organizations which includes funds and bandwidth and/or spectrum that will be used for public purposes by:

• Allowing the local community which owns the public right-of-way to franchise and determine the best use of the community’s property. This principle must be protected by Federal law. Continue Reading »

Assessing the Damage 

Survey shows that state video franchise laws bring no rate relief while harming public benefits  

About the Survey

In May 2008, the Alliance for Community Media (ACM) initiated an online survey regarding the impact of state video franchise laws. Members of ACM and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) from around the country participated in this survey.

There were 204 respondents from 33 states, representing public, educational and governmental (PEG) access television centers. Of those respondents, 140 (from 18 states) now have a state video franchise law in effect. This summary focuses on the responses from those with state video franchise laws.

Companies applying to operate under new state laws

• 68% of survey respondents report that new entrants (AT&T and Verizon) have applied for state franchises.
• 52% report that their incumbent cable providers have applied for state franchises.

Impact on PEG Facilities and Services

Since the recent passage of state video franchise laws, many PEG centers already see a negative impact on their funding and operations, and a decrease in related services or benefits.

• About 20% of respondents report PEG funding decreases since the advent of statewide franchising (including communities in CA, FL, IA, IN, KS, MI, MO, NC, OH, TX and WI), while cable operators report record earnings.  In many communities, PEG funding that had been available for all PEG-related costs is now
restricted to capital purchases.

• Respondents from 17 communities in 8 different states report loss of access to PEG facilities managed by cable operators soon after state video franchise laws removed local obligations from those companies. In addition, Comcast used state franchise law as the excuse to close all of its PEG facilities in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan in September of 2007, prior to distribution of this survey.

• 26% of respondents that had public cable drops in locations like libraries, schools and other public centers, and 41% of respondents in communities that had an Institutional Network connecting government facilities, educational institutions, and PEG facilities report the loss or reduction of those benefits (including communities in CA, CT, FL, GA, IN, MI, MO, NC, OH, TX and WI).

Impact on Quality and Functionality of PEG Channels 

About two-thirds of affected survey respondents from 13 states report that new state franchise service providers deliver PEG channels with impaired signal quality and functionality.  For example, AT&T’s “U-verse” system:
• takes up to a minute or more to tune in a PEG channel
• presents PEG at inferior quality compared to commercial channels
• cannot support closed captioning or second audio programming
• does not support DVR recording (like “TiVo”) of PEG channels
• strips away PEG channel number identity
• prevents viewers from channel surfing to and from PEG channels

Impact on PEG Channels Carriage

Since the passage of state video franchise laws, PEG centers report reductions and threats to their existing channels. Operating under recently-adopted state rules, many new entrants and incumbents quickly took steps to limit PEG channel capacity and placement.

• Nearly 25% of respondents said they lost or expect to lose channels since the advent of statewide franchising (including communities in CA, FL, GA, IN, KS, MI, MO, NC, OH, TX and WI).

• Respondents from 29 communities in 12 states report PEG channels being moved by incumbent cable operators to “digital only” channels, decreasing accessibility & visibility and increasing costs for subscribers

• Respondents from 8 states report that they must purchase special hardware and pay significant monthly fees to deliver PEG channels to new state franchise service providers.  Such carriage fees were never required previously under local franchises, and are not paid by local commercial and public broadcast stations.

Impact on Cable Rates

Survey respondents confirm what has been widely reported elsewhere:  relief to the consumer from skyrocketing cable rates — the major reason for adopting state video franchise laws — has not occurred.

• Two-thirds of respondents said basic cable rates have increased in their communities after a state video franchise law was adopted and a new competitor arrived.

• Only 1% said that rates have gone down.

Preliminary Conclusions

Even in the early stages of adoption and implementation, the negative fallout from the state video franchise laws has been substantial and will continue to mount.  As incumbents and new entrants apply to operate under these new franchises, more communities will experience the cutbacks and degradation of PEG services reported in this survey, leaving many communities in the nation without the diverse, local programming provided through PEG channels. This outcome directly contradicts the purpose stated in the Cable Act of 1984, that franchises be responsive to the needs and interests of the local community.

It’s important to note that where PEG Access has greater protection in the state video franchise laws, AT&T is ignoring requirements to provide PEG at “similar” (CA law) or “equivalent” (IL law) signal quality and functionality as commercial channels.  This disadvantages, rather than serves local communities.

It is our hope that the information drawn from this initial survey of communities affected by state video franchise laws will inform proactive legislative and regulatory action to preserve the localism and diversity of programming that emerges from PEG channels nationwide.

——————

The Alliance for Community Media is a national membership organization representing more than 3,000 PEG access centers across the nation. Local PEG programmers produce 20,000 hours of new programs per week, and serve more than 250,000 organizations annually through the efforts of an estimated 1.2 million volunteers.

For survey information, contact ACM Public Policy Committee member, Barbara Popovic
(312) 738-1400, bpopovic [at] cantv [dot] org

download report summary (pdf) here

Hello Friends,

This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit turned down a petition by the Alliance for Community Media, Alliance for Communications Democracy, NATOA, National League of Cities, National Association of Counties and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and by other PEG organizations, local governments and cable operators seeking to overturn regulations adopted by the FCC in March 2007 designed to ease the ability of telephone companies to get cable franchise.

We are very disappointed with the court’s decision which represents a loss for the public interest served by PEG and local franchising.  We will be consulting with our allies in the proceeding to determine what next steps may be advisable.  There are a couple of relatively small bright spots in the decision, however. While the decision affirms the FCC’s finding that capital costs required by a franchise to be paid for PEG access facilities are exempted from the definition of franchise fees (as to which a maximum 5% of gross revenues can permissibly be charged), the court makes clear that such capital costs are not limited to the construction of facilities but may also include equipment.  The court’s decision also makes clear that nothing in the FCC’s order prevents local franchise authorities from increasing PEG obligations upon renewal of incumbent franchises.

Here is a link to the court’s decision: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0230p-06.pdf.

Deborah Vinsel, Interim Director
dvinsel [at] allliancecm [dot] org

Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2008) – The Alliance for Community Media (ACM) recognizes three individuals for their outstanding contributions to the field of community media.  The ACM National Board of Directors selected the recipients for this year’s awards to be presented on July 12, 2008 at the ACM National Conference and Trade Show in Washington, D.C. Continue Reading »