Agenda - Council - 11/22/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CenturyLink suggests that the LPF law was preempted by orders issued by the Federal Communications Commission(FCC). In its responsive comments, Comcast disputes CenturyLink's argument.5 In 2007, the FCC issued an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing competitive cable franchising.6 The 621 Order addresses the implementation of Section 621(a)(1) of the federal Cable Acta Among other things, Section 621 prohibits franchising authorities from unreasonably refusing to award competitive cable franchises.$ The 621 Order was challenged and upheld.9 In January 2015, the FCC reaffirmed the 621 Order on reconsideration.10 The FCC found that both traditional cable providers and telephone companies wish to offer customers "triple play" services-- voice, high-speed Internet access, and video. When a phone company enters the cable market, the FCC has determined that competition for delivery of bundled services will benefit consumers by driving down prices and improving the quality of services. The FCC has also concluded that the circumstances for competitive entry to the cable market are considerably different than existed when the incumbent cable operators obtained their franchises. Incumbent cable operators were initially the sole providers of cable and gained a high percentage of potential subscribers in the local market. A second entrant is less likely, or even unlikely, to gain the same percentage of subscribers. The competitor faces greater "financial risk" and"uncertainty" than did the incumbent when it entered the market.I I As a result, the FCC found that level playing field requirements generally, and system build-out requirements specifically, can be an obstacle when phone companies seek to deploy competitive video services. Although phone companies already have facilities deployed, they still must upgrade existing plant to enable the provision of video service which often requires significant investment.12 Based on this reasoning, the 621 Order restricted local level playing field requirements and prohibited imposition of unreasonable build-out requirements on competitors. The FCC further found that the imposition of"up-front" PEG and I-Net support obligations, or obligations that 5 CenturyLink has received similar franchises from dozens of Minneapolis-St.Paul metro cities in which Comcast is the incumbent cable operator. Comcast made similar comments in many of these cites,however,Comcast has not appealed the grant of such franchises to CenturyLink. The deadline for such litigation has apparently expired. 6 In the Matter of Section 621(a)(1)of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984,MB Docket No.05-311,(rel. March 5,2007)(the"621 Order"). 47 U.S.C. § 541(a)(1). 8 47 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2). Federal law also provides that a local franchising authority: "shall allow. . . [an] applicant's cable system a reasonable period of time to become capable of providing cable service to all households in the franchise area. . ." 47 U.S.C. § 541(a)(4). Federal law further prohibits redlining,stating: "[i]n awarding a franchise or franchises,a franchising authority shall ensure that access to cable service is not denied to any group of potential residential cable subscribers because of the income of the residents of the local area in which such group resides." 47 U.S.C. § 541(a)(3). 9 Alliance for Community Media v.FCC,529 F.3d 763(6th Cir.2008). 10 Order on Reconsideration(rel.Jan.21,2015). 11 See generally,621 Order at¶28. 12 See generally, 621 Order at¶35. 3 486014v1 QU210-6