Competitive Cable Services Act
is a winner
for consumers

  Consumers have everything to gain – and nothing to lose – by proposed legislation being considered by the Louisiana Legislature. The bill we are referring to is HB 699, the Competitive Cable Services Act. In a nutshell, this legislation would allow telephone companies to compete with cable TV companies for the provision of video services in your home.
  All of us learned in school that competition generally benefits consumers and that free enterprise helped make America the great nation that it is. Specifically, we have identified several key benefits of this legislation for our readers. First of all, competition gives you a choice. Today, you have several choices for local and long-distance voice service and for Internet access service. However, your choices for video services are limited. And if you do not want satellite TV service, then you don’t have a choice at all. This legislation would allow telephone companies to provide video services over their networks and would give you a real choice among video service providers.
  Secondly, competition between the telephone and cable TV companies would promote competitive pricing. History has proven that competition in the long-distance market dramatically reduced the cost of long-distance calls. The same thing happened in the cellular telephone market. Not only have charges for cellular service been reduced, but innovative services are being introduced at a much quicker rate. Today, cable companies can bundle video, Internet access and voice services by offering a "Voice Over Internet Protocol" service. Telephone companies cannot provide video over their existing network unless this legislation passes. If they are allowed to enter the market, prices will drop as cable and telephone companies compete for your business.
  Finally, if telephone companies are allowed to compete with cable companies, they will invest additional capital in our state’s infrastructure. They will need to deploy fiber optic cable deeper into their network and enhance the electronics associated with the fiber cable in order to carry a video signal. Additional fiber deployment will provide greater bandwidth and therefore will also increase Internet access speeds. This investment will spark economic development throughout the state. A more advanced telecommunications infrastructure will improve the quality of education and medical services for our community as well as improve the ability of local businesses to compete in today’s global economy.
  Cox and BellSouth both do an excellent job in providing services to Louisiana and both are good corporate citizens.
Since cable is now offering telephone services, it seems only fair to allow BellSouth to provide T.V.
  What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
  Therefore we recommend that members of the Louisiana Legislature support the Competitive Cable Services Act and allow telephone companies to compete with cable TV companies for providing video services. The legislation is a win-win for the consumers of this state, and they deserve the benefits that competition will bring.

Crowley Post Signal • 602 North Parkerson Avenue • Crowley, LA
Ph: 337-783-3450 • Fax: 337-788-0949