Local groups and members of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition oppose Michigan Video Franchising Bill and deliver 18,000 petitions to state senators
Contact: Craig Aaron / Communications Director, Free Press
Novemeber 28, 2006
www.freepress.net
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=press14

LANSING (November 28) -- At a press conference today inside the State Capitol, members of a broad array of Michigan groups and local members of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition spoke out against a "lame duck" vote on the "Michigan Video Franchising Bill" (HB 6456) and demanded that state senators protect the future of the Internet for Michigan residents and businesses.

Telecom giant says it'll invest big in Michigan if cable TV, Web and phone service rules are revised.
Gary Heinlein / The Detroit News
Friday, December 01, 2006
The Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061201/METRO/612010359/1003

LANSING -- AT&T played the trump card Thursday in its push for a dramatic revision of Michigan's video franchise regulations: the promise of a $620 million investment and 2,000 new jobs in the next three years.

"It would be a nice Christmas present for Michiganians," said AT&T Michigan President Gail Torreano, whose company is eager to package cable TV and high-speed Internet with phone service in the competition for consumer dollars.

Torreano said AT&T's expansion and investment in Michigan would be much slower if it's forced to negotiate separate cable TV pacts with each of the 1,100 communities where it now offers phone service.

Her comments came as lawmakers consider a bill to draw up uniform statewide rules governing video services.

With Democrats rising, an overhaul of telecom laws is unlikely. The industry turns to states.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Times Staff Writer
November 28, 2006
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-telecom28nov28,1,3782727.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

The Democratic takeover of Congress makes it increasingly unlikely that AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. will be able to push through stalled legislation to make it easier for them to sell pay television.

Instead, they probably will focus their efforts on state legislatures as they try to deliver more services to compete against cable companies.

As of September 1st, 2006, Democracy Now is no longer broadcasting on Traverse Community Television. This is a great lost to not only Traverse City, but all of Northern Michigan.

PUBLISHED: November 22, 2006
By Cristen Kis, Press & Guide Newspapers
http://www.pressandguide.com/stories/112206/loc_20061122002.shtml

DEARBORN/DEARBORN HEIGHTS - Customers with cable subscriptions through Comcast or WOW! may soon have another choice — AT&T. But that additional option could come with a multi-million dollar price tag for local governments.