In Connecticut, the Dept. of Public Utilities Control (DPUC) is the regulatory agency that oversees the cable company & Community Access activity. The reference CATV is used for Chap289_Cable TV State References.

What is the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) role in public access also known as Community Access? What is the role of a cable advisory council? What is the cable company's role in providing "good quality" production and video equipment. For answers refer to the Office of Legislative Research State of Connecticut - Summary of Cable Access Requirements @2000.

Regs related to Cable Advisory Councils

Federal:
Learn more about the FCC, an independent United States government agency, established by the Communications Act of 1934 which regulates telecommunications, broadcast & cable services at Federal level.

Action by the 109th Congress (2005-2006) will change the cable television landscape. Just how depends on action on several Find Bills already Introduced in Congress

Committees reviewing bills related to Cable landscape are:
Senate: Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
House: Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee Members on Telecommunications and the Internet

Community Access *** Legislative Alerts***

Many Telecom Bills were introduced during the 109th Congress. Some would eliminate or modify local franchising requirements. All legislation introduced must be amended to maintain current P.E.G resources levels in CT and any right of communities to ensure the public benefits from broadband communications.

Last Updated: May 25, 2006 Where are we in the process:
If the House Judiciary Committee gets to review the C.O.P.E. Bill -- making any changes it wants or rewriting it entirely -- it will be that much more difficult to win approval of the bill this year. Any legislation that doesn't win approval by both houses this Congress will die. Once the new Congress comes in following the November elections, all bills will have to start over again from scratch. If a Bill is approved by both houses of Congress provision would likel take effect within 180 days of enactment.

Active Communication Bills: HOUSE

May 25, 2006: Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act.(Consumer Groups get support) House Judiciary Committee voted 20-13 to approve the bill, called the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act. Bill sponsor James Sensenbrenner, the Republican chairman of the committee, was joined by a handful of Republicans and most of the committee's Democrats in supporting the bill.

"C.O.P.E. _Communications, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006 ''(H.B. 5252 Congressional Record AMENDED Introduced by Representatives Barton, Upton, Rush and Pickering ... NATOA Concerns about Competition and Community. Consumer Union on Consumer Choice. Benton Foundation summary. Common Cause Position Paper. National Journal's Insider Update: The Telecom Act . US Council of Mayors OPPOSE Bill

C.O.P.E. Provisions: aims to create a national franchise for video providers. Additonal components -elimination of network neutrality, e911 and municipal broadband. Complete Committee REPORT

The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet passed C.O.P.E. on April 5
in a 27-4 vote. Members voting against the bill were: Reps. Ed Markey (D, MA-07), Mike
Doyle (D, PA-14), Anna Eshoo (D, CA-14) and John Dingell (D, MI-15).

April 26, 2006 The House Commerce Committee, by an overwhelming vote of 42 to 12, paved the way for the creation of national video franchises.

May 12: Bill stalled in House due to debate over referral to Judiciary Committee. In the letter, Energy and Commerce staff for chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) explained that key provisions of the bill (H.R. 5252) fell outside of Judiciary’s legislative ambit, which includes the country’s antitrust laws that date to the late 19th century

Active Communication Bills: SENATE

Senate Commerce Committee , the Communications, Consumers' Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 (S. 2686) is scheduled for Mark-up Tuesday, June 20, 2006.

Provisions: To amend the Communications Act of 1934 and for other purposes: Interoperable emergency communications, Broadband, Video Services, Franchising...

May 18th Hearing: "On video franchising, the measure fails to strike a reasonable balance that would reaffirm the legitimate interests of local governments and support speedy entry on fair terms for new video providers" (excerpt Minority Statement).

May 25th Hearing: "Second of three hearings to review the revised substitute version of S. 2686" .

Competition and Convergence March 30th 2006 Hearings (ACM Testimony _MP3 download FCC/riddletest.mp3.)

Digital Conversion July 12th 2005 Hearings (Get lists of witnesses and video stream of testimony from links below.)

Industry Leaders... Key Consumers including 1st responders

Sample Topics Pipe & Programming, Cost and additional free services, Redundancy, Impact on Rural Customers, "Hard Date" …12.31.2009 or sooner, Digital Cliff, Down Converted Signal (18 months at head end), Seamless transition, Analog Converters, Analog spectrum recaptured by government/1st responders, 85 % penetration of Analog(Dark TVs)- consumer education, localism, availability and equality with cable, "must carry", Multicasting by Broadcasters with Hyper News, Is Local Content is valuable to cable operators?

"Community Broadband Act of 2005''(S.1294 )June 23,2005 Congressional Record

"Video Choice Act of 2005''(S.1349, H.3146 )June 30,2005 Congressional Record and July 28th in the House

"Free Market Telecommunications Framework Act of 2005" (S. 1504) June 27,2005 Congressional Record.