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AT&T pushing to offer cable services statewide
Gregg Morton is selling an idea the cable companies don’t want you or Tennessee lawmakers to buy.
Morton, the state president of AT&T, is the pitchman for his company having a statewide video services franchise that could shake up Tennessee’s telecommunications industry.
It’s a proposal that bucks Tennessee’s traditional business protocol, and has drawn the ire of the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association (TCTA) and other powerful lobbying groups such as the Tennessee Municipal League (TML).
Morton, in an interview held at the Times-News, acknowledged the public at large really doesn’t care about AT&T or the welfare of cable companies.
“What they do care about, though, are competition, choice and better prices. That at its core is what this issue is about,” Morton said of AT&T’s quest for a statewide video franchise.
With a state franchise in hand, Morton said AT&T could create more than 2,000 jobs, invest an estimated $350 million in its telecommunications system and make a run at offering the so-called “triple play” of telecom services — phone, Internet and cable TV. AT&T does not provide local phone service or broadband service in Northeast Tennessee.
AT&T’s legislative push for a statewide franchise failed in the last session of the legislature, but the telecommunications giant will reboot its effort with a new piece of legislation moving on Capitol Hill in 2008.
“This bill has been called a lot of different things — the AT&T bill, the AT&T versus cable bill, and the lobbyist full employment act,” Morton said. “What this bill does is open up the market for any provider to come in and serve whatever area they want to serve — not just AT&T. ... Yes, we are a big company with deep pockets, lots of resources. But we’re still a new entrant. We have zero customers, we have zero market share. When we come in, there is no guarantee we get customer one. We’re going to have to fight an entrenched incumbent in cable as well as satellite to win customers in the marketplace.
“If customers don’t like our service, they won’t buy it. If they don’t buy it, we can’t build it out.”
Morton insisted AT&T’s deployment plan includes rural areas and could address specific consumer needs, such as offering a la carte instead of tiered cable TV service.
“If the market demands it, we’ll provide it,” he said.
Instead of local governments authorizing video franchises, AT&T wants the Tennessee Regulatory Authority to be the franchising entity in the state. Local governments, said Morton, would still have access to public channels, would still get franchise fees, and would still have control over access to public rights of way.
“The other thing this does is allow cable companies to compete against each other. You don’t find Comcast and Charter competing against each other today,” Morton said. “Local control has allowed cable rates to go up. ... TML doesn’t want to talk about that, and cable certainly doesn’t want to talk about it. The only way you’re going to fix that is through competition.”
AT&T has pushed through similar legislation or has executed telecommunications agreements across other Southeast, Southwest and Midwest states with success.
When asked why AT&T won’t negotiate individual franchise agreements with localities, Morton said he would have to approach about 300 local governments.
“I’d like to have one standard framework that I know works everywhere so I have investment certainty. ... For me to go to each one of those separately and engage in negotiations 300 times takes quite a bit of time,” he said. “But I have not had one mayor articulate to me specifically what they are losing. ... Cable doesn’t have to go city by city to get a telephone franchise. Why should we have to go city by city to get a video franchise?”
For more information go to www.wewantchoice.com.
For TCTA’s position go to www.keepitlocaltennessee.com.
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Make Charter and Comcast compete with AT&T...they aren't any better than any other service provider and there isn't one good reason why any one of them should be allowed a monopoly. Individual franchises seem to have created these monopolies!
Keep them all fighting to provide cable, at least until our cities create their own cable systems.
Charter just pushed a rate increase on us. Hurry up, AT&T.
Competition is a good thing in any market. I just hope AT&T is ready to do business by the time my unit gets home in June.
Good.....No more Monopoly on cable!
Mr. Thomas you said "You get put into a black hole and transfered until you give up" in regards to AT&T. Have you ever called Charter? Its torture, the last time I had an issue with billing, I was on the phone for 45 minutes, transfered 7 times, finally to person that didn't speak fluent English only to be told "You only option is to pay!" I didn't have an objection to paying, just a question about a charge on the bill. My question was never answered, the bill never corrected or explained and like I was told, I just payed without much other choice. The Better Business Bureau has a public warning posted about Charter's service/billing. PCWorld lists Charter as the worst of the big ISPs. I don't care if its AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner or any other company in the world, I think its time Charter has some competition in this area.
What do we have to lose at this point? Charter has complete control over everyone who purchases cable. Mr. Thomas, move to a "profitable" area. That should remedy your problem. Catering to the masses makes much more sense than forcing a company to serve you because you chose to live in a more rural area.
I don't care what charter or comcast says, I'm ready to help put up the cable for AT&T. We need them to compete. Back in the days of the big dish, there was competion and the price were good and you did not have to worry what the kids could see. You just did not buy trash,like they force feed us with now. Please call your local Rep. and Con in Nashville and let them know what we want.
AT&T will not bring competition into this. Another company maybe, but not AT&T. AT&T has a cash cow big enough to come in, undercut everyone else with price until they go out of business and then boom, watch what happens to the price then. It's how big companies abuse their position all the time. AT&T was so bad at it in the 80s they got split up - a punishment much worse than even Microsoft has received. Just make a call to AT&T to get an incorrect bill corrected. You get put into a black hole and transfered until you give up. It's their way of increasing profits. And people like me who live in a 'non profitable area' of TN will never see any good of this. We barely have phone service with zero modern day features like clear lines, call forwarding or any of the other things that we we pay the same as everyone else for. They have not bothered to update their infastructure because they don't have to.
Greg Morton is absolutely right. I couldn't care less about AT & T or the cable companies. What I do care about is price, choice and reliable services. Competition will hopefully make this happen. I especially like the a la carte proposal where I could buy the stations I wanted instead of the tier system where someone besides me decides what I get based on what I'm willing to pay. Even if AT & T never makes it into NE TN market, someone will and that means an end to the monopoly the local cable companies have had here for too long.
My line of work allows me to see REAL bills of what people in other areas pay for cable/phone/internet service and believe me, you'd be sickened by how much more we pay. That's because there's competition. Really, as it is, what are your choices if you want cable: Pay what Charter tells you OR don't have cable. Not much of an option if you ask me.
I hope the opposition to these reads comments. I would be more than happy to testify to committees or other panels on my horrible experiences with AT&T service in east TN. The only way AT&T can ever get a deal like this is if they buy off the right people, and if enough public outcry is apparent, even bribing will not help them. Do not let AT&T ruin communications in TN.
We have a REAL need for this competition,but,I can just see the BOYS lining up,in opposition.
Bring on the competition, but they'll need to offer service in rural areas too. They shouldn't be allowed to pick and choose.