PennPIRG’s Beth McConnell will testify before the state Senate Communications and Technology Committee on August 8th, urging the committee to promote competition in the cable market and protect consumers from unfair cable pricing and practices.
“Cable companies have enjoyed a monopoly for far too long, holding consumers captive to skyrocketing rates and poor customer service. Legislation to encourage cable competition must strengthen consumer protections, not weaken them in favor of big cable and phone companies,” said McConnell.
The Pennsylvania Senate is considering SB 1247, which would take away the rights of local governments to negotiate franchise agreements with video providers. Those franchise agreements allow governments to require cable companies to provide support for public, educational and government channels, to get permits before digging up city streets, and to serve all members of the community rather than cherry-picking only the most profitable neighborhoods. Backed by Verizon, SB 1247 would threaten those standards, without promising consumers any real competition or a reduction in rates. Verizon has new technologies that would allow the telecom giant to offer video service over its fiber optic wires, and is seeking the legislation to exempt it from existing consumer protection rules.
PennPIRG expects the Senate committee to consider the legislation soon after it returns from its summer break on September 25th.
Contact: Beth McConnell, PennPIRG State Director, 215-732-3747, mcconnell@pennpirg.org, www.pennpirg.org.
