Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
ORANGE COUNTY <br /> <br />HILLSBOROUGH <br />NORTH CAROLINA <br />lt'e <br />~if/a6lilet~J7i2 <br />August 11, 2005 <br />The Honorable Elizabeth Dole <br />Russell Senate Office Building, Room 120 <br />Pennsylvania Ave. <br />Washington, DC 20510 <br /> <br />The Honorable Richard Burr <br />Russell Senate Office Building, Room 217 <br />Pennsylvania Ave. <br />Washington, DC 20510 <br />RE: S. 1504, the Ensign/McCain Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act <br />Dear Senators Burr and Dole: <br />Please oppose the Ensign/Mc,Cain Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act, <br />In the cable and broadband area this bill will: <br />• Abolish cable franchising, which ensures that the services cable companies meet our <br />local needs, provide protections for the public, and allow these provisions to be changed <br />over time as needs change and teciurology evolves; <br />• Unlike any other utility service, abolish requirements that cable service be provided <br />wherever in a community there is sufficient population density to make service <br />economical. Phone and electric service are not provided only where the provider elects <br />to provide service-all areas with sufficient population density are served. Cable and <br />broadband should be the same; <br />• Allow cable companies to "redline" and deny service on the basis of race, sex, senior <br />citizen status. So if a customer apposes action by their provider, the provider can deny <br />service, even though the customer has paid the bill in a timely manner; <br />• Reduce (perhaps substantially) the cable franchise fees providers pay to use public <br />property; <br />• Apparently (we say apparently because the bill is not entirely clear on these points) grants <br />video providers the right to use public rights of way in perpetuity, without even the <br />protections that the courts impose when the government condenms property. <br />• Does not adequately preserve local ability to manage the streets, such as requiring <br />providers to relocate lines at their expense when streets are straightened or widened.. <br />• Does not have meaningful provisions on channels for public, educational or <br />govenunental use, and lacks provisions requiring the provider to provide funds to support <br />these chamrels. <br />• Does not have provisions to safeguard the public if the provider causes damage to the <br />right-of-way or enters bankntptcy, <br />AREA CODE (919) 245-2300 688-7331 FAX (919) 644-3004 <br />Ext. 2300 <br />