Dear Mayor:

As reported in our Advisories of November 2nd and November 7th, the Board of Public Utilities convened two public hearings on the Verizon Filing for System-Wide Video Franchise.  A copy of our submission outlining our issues follows. 

“On behalf of Mayor Peter Cantu, Plainsboro and Chairman of the League’s Telecommunication’s Policy Committee, I am submitting herewith, the League’s statement on the aforementioned application.  We would like this to be included as part of the official hearing record.

The new statewide franchise law was an important milestone for our state.  The law radically altered the municipal role in regulating cable television services.  The League of Municipalities spent considerable time working with state legislators, opponents and proponents of the bill, to ensure that the new legislation advanced the cable-related needs of the state’s municipalities.  Verizon officials, throughout that process, always negotiated in good faith, and for that we thank them.

The League supported the legislation for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the new legislation promoted competition, increased the franchise fee to help bring property tax relief, and saved municipalities the time and expense of negotiating detailed franchise agreements. 

The League’s support of the legislation was not without reservation, however.  For example, the League was and remains concerned that the holder of a system-wide franchise not ignore municipalities that do not have the population density that would make them immediately profitable for a cable provider to serve.  The League is also concerned that the holder of a system-wide franchise work directly with municipalities in order to provide them with the same benefits that they would have received under the old certificate of approval process.

We hope that the BPU acts on Verizon’s application fairly and expeditiously.  This would send the right signal to other companies that may seek to serve consumers in New Jersey.  We need more competition for video services and your action on this application can help cable subscribers and all of the citizens of our state.”  A copy of the entire position statement can be found on our website at www.njslom.org.

For further information contact Michael Darcy at the League at (609) 695-3481, ext. 16, or mdarcy@njslom.com

Opinions Voiced on Verizon Cable Plan