Following the telcos’ win in Texas, New Jersey is the next big battleground for a new law permitting state-wide franchising. And according to this piece in the National Journal’s Tech Daily, the deal-breaker could be an 11th hour call for including in legislation mandates for telco state-wide build-outs of video facilities.
Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe (who is quoted as saying that New Jersey has “a particularly wacky set of regulators and policymakers”) clearly depicts such a requirement as a non-starter.
“We think that this is frankly just another way to make it economically disadvantageous for us” to enter the TV market, Rabe said. Cable companies have been given 30 to 40 years to construct their networks, but lawmakers are “suggesting that we have to build out immediately. Our intention is to serve as quickly as possible,” Rabe said. He would not predict how long it might take to cover all New Jersey communities.
Cynthia Brumfield at 6:09 PM|Comments(0)
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