Teletruth News Analysis: May 20th, 2009.

Is New York City and Verizon trying to slip one by you?

I got this notice on Monday, May 19th @ 5:42PM about a hearing on Verizon’s cable franchise agreement on Tuesday, May 20th -- only 22 hours notice. With such a short notice, is the city hoping that the public won’t make it or is the hearing just a formality for a sweetheart deal that’s been pre-arranged?

Notice: http://www.newnetworks.com/nycfranchise.htm

A copy of the proposed agreement is being hosted by Josh Breitbart -- the actual agreements were nowhere to be found on NYC's website. http://breitbart.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/public-hearing-on-proposed-verizon-cable-tv-franchise-tomorrow/

Needs of the citizens? I guess the City has decided that it doesn’t really need the public input. What about the City's own Economic Development Corporation (EDC) broadband feasibility study or any input from the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee? Verizon is proposing to build out both a TV network as well as a boadband network.

What the franchise says is that Verizon can ignore the existing Public Switched Telephone Network, and that the franchise fee Verizon claims they are paying is really being passed-through directly to customers as a separate line-item. They are even allowed to pass through the “grants” Verizon has been touting.

Some of the “Fine Print” in the proposed Cable Franchise http://www.newnetworks.com/verizonfineprint.htm

The NYC government is replacing the Verizon Utility with a "cable service" with few obligations but all of the benefits. Small business needs are being ignored. And don't get me started on the fact that we (NYC residents) already paid thousands of dollars for a fiber optic service we never received; one which was open to competition and available ubiquitously, unlike Verizon's new closed network.

For more info, read

• Testimony via an article in Harvard Nieman Foundation for Journalism http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=00247
• Timeline of Verizon's Broadband Failure in New York City: (with links to actual documents.) http://www.newnetworks.com/verizontimeline.htm

The City will argue we need cable competition. We do, and have been promised it since in 1995. But not at the expense of selling out all NYC residents just to line the pockets of a private company. I'm sure I’m not the only one who questions this inappropriate behavior. Insufficient time for a meeting announcement, no public input on the deal as its being negotiated, ignoring all publicly commissioned research, and creating new costs for NYC residents (some would call this a tax being levied by the city and being collected by a private institution).

Bruce Kushnick, Teletruth