Video competition bill signed into law

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 14, 2006

The Capital-Journal

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius joined legislative leaders Thursday at a bill signing ceremony for Senate Bill 449, the Kansas Video Competition Act.

The measure, which unanimously passed both chambers of the Kansas Legislature, reforms the state's cable TV franchising laws and establishes rules that encourage new competitors to enter the TV market. It becomes law July 1.

Senate Bill 449 allows new television service providers to establish a single statewide franchise agreement, rather than negotiating different agreements.

"This law will make it easier for new cable TV and video providers to come to Kansas by making it so they don't have to obtain franchises one community at a time," Sebelius said. "The goal is to expand competition and lower prices for consumers."

AT&T is one of the companies planning to upgrade its technology and services in Kansas to deliver new, next-generation Internet Protocol-based services to residential customers, including AT&T U- verse TV and AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet-U-verse Enabled.

AT&T expects to make an incremental investment of about $4.4 billion nationally through 2008 on the initiative, called Project Lightspeed, to initially deploy these new services.

"Consumers want more choices, new services and better prices in the TV and video market," said David Kerr, president of AT&T Kansas.

The new law protects local governments' ability to collect fees on the service, allows local government control over rights-of-way and provides for delivery of local public access, educational and government programming.

"This new law puts Kansas on the leading edge of advanced video services and television technology," said House Speaker Doug Mays, R- Topeka. "By updating the Kansas video franchise laws in a bi- partisan and thoughtful manner, we have set the stage for more competition, more choices and better service for consumers who purchase cable TV services."