Consumers for Cable Choice Lauds Video Choice Act; Calls on Congress to Ask Constituents What They Want from Their Cable Providers

Consumers for Cable Choice Lauds Video Choice Act; Calls on Congress to Ask Constituents What They Want from Their Cable Providers

INDIANAPOLIS, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- National advocacy group, Consumers for Cable Choice, today described the Video Choice Act as a significant step toward removing barriers to cable television competition and giving American consumers more control over what they and their children watch, access to higher quality service, better pricing and options currently denied them.

"Elected officials will spend a good part of Independence Day weekend with their constituents. They should take that opportunity to ask the American public what it wants from its cable company," said Robert K. Johnson, Consumers for Cable Choice executive director. "I'll bet a package of firecrackers that Americans will say they want freedom to choose their provider. They want more choices. They want better quality. And they want to easily be able to control what their children watch. This bill raises all the right issues."

The Video Choice Act was introduced this afternoon in the U.S. House and Senate. If legislation allowing cable television competition is enacted, Johnson predicts American consumers will immediately benefit from explosive growth in new services and feature options, including:

* Multi-channel offerings to ethnic and special-interest communities; * More local programming and consumer interaction; * Easy-to-use parental supervision through remote control units;

* Educational programs that prompt children to respond with answers as they learn interactively;

* Programs that prompt special safety messages; and

* Do-it-yourself shows that allow consumers to order materials through their televisions.

"If all the companies that can provide cable television service were allowed to compete, consumers would immediately have access to high- definition, digital video content delivered faster than they can currently imagine. They would no longer be constrained by technological limits," he added. "The Video Choice Act has the power to bring positive changes for every American. Congress must modernize its laws to correspond with the digital age. If it doesn't, customers will be stuck with the same out-dated, low-quality, poor service and lack of control they have now."

Consumers for Cable Choice will be working to support legislation like the Video Choice Act and make it even more consumer friendly. The group has proposed that Congress adopt a federal standard for locally administered processes to address cable service and billing disputes -- something customers do not have under the current system.

The Video Choice Act would:

* Require competitive providers to pay the same franchise fees currently paid by exclusive territory cable providers;

* Preserve the rights of state and local governments to manage public rights of way; and

* Require competitive cable providers to provide the same amount of public, educational, and governmental channels as currently required.

About Consumers for Cable Choice, Inc.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Consumers for Cable Choice is a national alliance of consumer advocacy groups and private citizens who are committed to promoting maximum choice for consumers in cable, video and broadband services. Its mission is to actively remove the regulatory roadblocks that stand between today's monopolies and reformed government policies that open the channels for fair competition. The alliance uses a combination of education and grassroots advocacy to impact change, which will result in a deregulated and pro-consumer market that stimulates fair price, more choices and better service options in the cable television industry. To learn more about the group, visit http://www.consumers4choice.org/ or call 317-506-7348.

Source: Consumers for Cable Choice, Inc.

CONTACT: Robert Johnson, Executive Director of Consumers for Cable Choice, Inc., +1-317-506-7348, johnson@consumers4choice.org ; or Cheryl Reed or Amy Zucker of Synergy Marketing Group, Inc., +1-317-205-9690, cherylreed@synergy-mg.com or amyzucker@synergy-mg.com

Web site: http://www.consumers4choice.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: To schedule a media interview with Consumers for Cable Choice executive director Robert Johnson, please contact Cheryl Reed or Amy Zucker at +1-317-205-9690. Johnson has been advocating for policies that benefit residential and small business consumers for more than 20 years.

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