AT&T Breaks the Law... Again... Targets PEG Stations.

Back in March 2007, I wrote that "the worst state franchise bill I've ever read has just been introduced in Illinois". At the time, there was a united front among community activists and community media producers to kill this bill (HB1500). As I wrote, "In taking away home rule power for local communities [HB1500] creates situations whereby local disruptions (e.g., digging up streets, sidewalks, front yards, etc.) are taken completely out of local hands."

And then a remarkable thing happened -- on May 30, 2007, AT&T holed up with legislators to create a "compromise" bill. The plot seemed straight from a Hollywood movie:

I've just learned that AT&T lobbyists are holed up in state legislators offices and are rewriting state laws that they will attempt to get passed in the dead of night. One might think that this is some sort of nefarious plot to some Gotham City corruption scandal, but it's happening right now in the State of Illinois. With massive public opposition to HB1500, it appears likely that AT&T and it's legislators will attempt to attach amendments to SB 678.

Here's the kicker, however, AT&T and its political cronies wouldn't have been able to pass this bill without the avid support of community media producers. While folks like myself were writing:

The amendment that AT&T's lobbyists are working on would lower buildout requirements while granting this telecom giant unprecedented power to ignore local concerns. Meanwhile, consumer protections are gutted, and network neutrality has been entirely eliminated. Back when I wrote about the worst telecom bill I'd ever seen i hadn't realized that AT&T, still wanting more, would attempt a late-night assassination of consumer- and municipal-rights and that government officials in Illinois would be so corrupt as to go along with this farce.

Community media producers were busy working to help pass this franchise (220 ILCS 5/21-601). This break in the ranks was difficult to understand -- prior allies explained it as the best of a bad situation -- but it still meant that the public interest coalition was splintered and PEG producers did provide the political cover necessary to ensure a smooth passage of this bill.

One summer later, I've started receiving dire e-mails from the very PEG channel folks who helped pass the AT&T state franchise bill who are now angry that AT&T is not living up to its promises and expectations. I have to wonder, are these people daft? What did they expect would happen? When telecommunications experts are issuing dire (public) warnings about the gutting of consumer rights, local authority and control (language like, "a late-night assassination of consumer- and municipal-rights" is a fairly clear warning), what did people think was going to happen?

It pains me to see incredibly smart and talented people either hoodwinked or naively trusting that they, somehow, weren't going to end up on the wrong side of a Faustian bargain with AT&T. Meanwhile, here's the latest assessment of just how bad things have gotten with AT&T's Illinois State franchise:

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  AT&T's planned system for PEG programs like Countdown fails the test by removing those programs from its television line-up. PEG programs will be hard to find, channel surfing between commercial channels and PEG channels won't work, and channel listings for programs like Countdown will disappear. It doesn't take an educator to know that "out of sight" can easily become "out of mind."
  • are cumbersome to find and slower to load than commercial channels
  • have inferior picture and audio quality compared to commercial channels
  • cannot support closed captioning
  • cannot support second audio programming
  • shut down after 2-3 hours of viewing
  • are incompatible with programmed recording devices like Tivo
  • are excluded from program guides and listings

Recently, Keep Us Connected circulated Loyola University professor, Dr. Diane Schiller’s Chicago Tribune letter to the editor on the sub-par treatment of PEG programming on AT&T’s U-Verse system. Over the past two decades, Dr. Schiller and her colleagues have demonstrated the public benefit of community access through Countdown, a live, call-in math instruction program for elementary school students across the city. Loyola professors introduce student viewers to a different math concept each week on Countdown.

 

Dr. Schiller fears those years of work will be undermined with the deployment of AT&T’s inferior U-Verse system. In her letter to the Tribune, Dr. Schiller says:

In response, AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza claims, "All PEG content is easily found on U-verse’s Channel 99, which is absolutely acceptable under state law…"

While AT& T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza publicly dismisses criticisms of U-Verse, other company representatives have repeatedly acknowledged deficiencies in the system, both in local and national demonstrations of the PEG product.

Contrary to La Schiazza's assertion, it is clear the U-Verse system fails to comply with Illinois law.

 

The law says:
Companies operating under Illinois’ Cable and Video Franchise law of 2007 "shall provide to subscribers public, educational and government access channel capacity at equivalent visual and audio quality and equivalent functionality, from the viewing perspective of the subscriber, to that of commercial channels carried on the [provider]’s basic cable or video service offerings…"

PEG channels on AT&T's U-Verse system:

 

The law says:
Public, education and government channels shall all be carried on the holder’s basic cable or video service offerings or tiers. Basic cable or video service is defined as "any cable of video service offering or tier which includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals."

AT&T's U-Verse system:
Segregates PEG channels from all other channels by moving PEG channels to a web-like application under the generic heading "Channel 99." PEG channels will not be transmitted in the same way as local television broadcast signals.

 

The law says:
"The holder shall provide a listing of public, education and government channels on channel cards and menus provided to subscribers in a manner equivalent to other channels…"

AT&T's U-Verse system:
Strips away PEG channel identity, only listing a generic Channel 99 on channel cards. Local residents looking for PEG channels are forced to scroll through a menu of dozens of PEG channels from the entire region in order to find what they are looking for.

 

The law says:
"…the [provider] shall provide a listing of public, educational, and government programming on its electronic program guide if such a guide is utilized by the holder."

AT&T's U-Verse system:
Does not list PEG programming on its electronic program guide.

From here on out, I expect that things will get even worse.