An FCC hearing in Texas about competition in video program delivery turned into a debate about deregulation as community activists protested a new law that gives the state government, rather than cities and countries, the power to regulate cable and video broadcasting.

The FCC Open Commission Meeting took place on Friday, February 10, in Keller Texas, where Verizon wireless has premiered its new FIOS (Fiber Optic Service) video/Internet service. Verizon and other telecom executives praised Senate Bill 5 (SB5), Texas's new law that takes franchising power away from counties and puts it in the hands of the state.

But Sharon King, of the Alliance for Community Media, told the FCC that implementation of the new law threatened public access programming. The Alliance represents 3,000 community stations nationwide. King charged that the day after the passage of SB5, the Dallas City manager caller her into his office, announced a 22 percent cut in her budget, and told her that unless new funds were found, Dallas Community television would be dropped.

"The Alliance is in favor of competition," King told the gathering. "But the FCC must be very careful in changing rules which have successfully provided the tools of democracy to our communities."

Community TV activists argued that while SB5 allows FIOS type services to deploy more quickly, ordinary people needed to retain access to programming. They cited community TV stations that provided jobs and housing information for Katrina refugees and a nationally renowned music station at Austin Community College that could be lost through the deregulation process.

Lori Panino-Tillery testified on behalf of the National League of Cities and several other groups. She told the Commission that local franchising does not block competition or innovation. Pointing out that a public access station carries the Keller City Council meetings, she challenged Verizon to do the same.

Other presentations praised the Texas law and Verizon. Fort Worth mayor Michael Moncrief told the meeting that a "balanced compromise" had been reached between deregulation and the social needs of local municipalities. Moncrief said that a proviso that delivery of video services cannot discriminate against the poor had been put into SB5. The legislation also required the continued existence of public access channels. Verizon claimed that customer response they received showed the wisdom of their services.

Commissioner Michael Copps said that the FCC needed more evidence that regulation impedes innovation and competition, rather than the repeated assertion that it does. In an exchange between commissioners and several witnesses at the end of the hearing, Verizon charged that the franchising process takes too long. Representatives of Keller's local cable carrier and Panino-Tillery disputed this claim, contending that applicants themselves often cause delays in franchising approval.

"We believe there is ample evidence to suggest that what has caused this lag in the growth of competition is the insistence by new applicants for franchise terms that are often materially different from those existing in cable franchises and are frequently contrary to municipal code," Pinino-Tillery argued.