Digital Infrastructure & Video Competition Act of 2006 Marc Jaffe Executive Director Public Cable Television Authority October 12, 2006 Impact on Public, Educational, and Government Access

Some Good - A Lot Bad Government agencies that have not previously sought to establish PEG funding may have additional opportunities to do so AB 2987 and traditional telephone service providers have a major misunderstanding of what PEG is and what its future will require. PEG does not fit a one-size-fits-all approach

PEG Channel Capacity State Franchise Holder Same number of public, educational, and government access channels as activated and provided by incumbent cable operator Existing PEG channels active as of January 1, 2007 Active if providing PEG programming for at least 8-hours per day Local entities with less than 3 PEG channels may initially request up to three Activated by state franchise holder within 3-months from request unless technically infeasible including failure of incumbent cable operator to make interconnection available

PEG Channel Capacity State Franchise Holder An additional PEG channel can be requested if any given channel is programmed for 56 or more hours per week as measured quarterly Produced or provided by local resident or organization Non-duplicative PEG only Programmed 8-hours per day

PEG Channel Specifications State Franchise Holder PEG channels placed on basic service tier Same channel numbers PEG channels cannot be moved w/out local agency approval or as required by federal law

PEG Channel Specifications State Franchise Holder Each channel capable of carrying standard (NTSC) format State franchisee is responsible for the conversion compatibility with their technology or protocol Similar quality & functionality as commercial channels If unable to interconnect, then provide connection to origination point

PEG Channel Funding State Franchise Holder PEG support funding with incumbent & state franchisee continue to the later of expiration of franchise or January 1, 2009 Only support funding in effect on December 31, 2006 may be imposed if in excess of 1% When incumbent franchise expires, local entity may enact an ordinance to continue existing funding as long as it does not exceed 3%

PEG Channel Funding State Franchise Holder Agencies that currently do not require PEG funding support may enact an ordinance at any time to require funding that does not exceed 1% of gross revenues Use funds in manner consistent with federal law Provider may recover fees as line item on subscriber’s billing statement

PEG Issues Law does little to facilitate new directions of PEG Verizon/AT&T one size fits all PEG models may be inadequate No partnership in local programming No provision for community’s needs or expectations of new media When are specific aspects of PEG going to be discussed? More PEG for many communities Greater interactivity potential