NASHVILLE — After little debate, the state Senate voted 29-0 this morning to send compromise legislation that would let AT&T begin competing with cable companies to Gov. Phil Bredesen.
“This is an historic day in Tennessee,” said Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, the Senate sponsor.
Proponents say the bill will promote cable TV competition and choice as well as spark broadband deployment in rural areas and promote new investment and jobs.
AT&T’s push last year faltered amid a major lobbying and television advertising war among AT&T, cable interests and local governments.
The bill allows AT&T to bypass hundreds of local governments that over the years have struck their own franchise agreements with cable companies. It creates a state franchising process to be overseen by the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
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