1990-09 RESOLUTION NO . 90-09
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
r' OF GRAND TERRACE; CALIFORNIA, URGING THE
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO REVISE THE
CABLE COMMUNICATIONS POLICY ACT OF 1984:
WHEREAS, cable television has become the public square
of free speech of the 1980s and will only grow in the future as a
necessity in the lives of individual citizens ; and
WHEREAS; the current status of the laws and regulations
governing cable do not promote competition or protect cable
subscribers from rate escalation of the type that could divide
society into those who can and those who cannot afford to avail
themselves of this public square ; and
WHEREAS; this division will result from cable
television being an unregulated monopoly, which does not face
competition and which is preempted from a regulatory environment ;
and
WHEREAS , this preemptive regulatory environment has
come about as a result of the Congress, the Federal
Communications Commission and Courts altering what cities had
thought to be the terms and conditions of the Cable Act of 1984
in areas such as franchising , renewals , rate regulation and
technical standards ; and
WHEREAS, the lack of competition has arisen from the
absence of alternative multichannel delivery systems, especially
of a switched fiber optic network that reaches most houses to
achieve a significant market share and from anticompetitive
behavior by monopolistic cable operators ; and
WHEREAS, the judicial elimination of "must carry" rules
has interfered with the intent of the 1984 Act ; and
WHEREAS, the current trend of horizontal consolidation
which results from the merging of cable systems , and vertical
integration , which results from cable companies having an
ownership interest in the sources of programming , have further
inhibited competition ; and
WHEREAS, as a result of this unregulated monopoly,
consumers and cities presently have no protection against the
monopolistic parctices of the cable industry,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and
City Council of the City of Grand Terrace call upon Congress and
the Administration to guarantee the right of all citizens to the
public square for free speech and other necessities provided by
cable television , and to address this issue by enacting laws
which encourage the introduction of competition into the cable
market and for cable franchises , especially at the time of
renewal ; and
RESOLUTION NO ' 90-09
r PAGE 2
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that until and unless such
competition is achieved ; Congress and the Administration must
return to local government regulatory authority over rates and
technical delivery: Specifically; the Mayor and City Council of
the City of Grand Terrace call upon the Congress and
Administration to :
A: Return to local government the authority to
regulate basic cable rates in the absence of a switched
fiber optic network to a second multi-channel
alternative , which provides viable competition
throughout the franchise area :
B : Establish; or in the alternative ; permit local
governments to establish, worthy technical standards for the
delivery of cable service which are responsive to technological
advances . The standards currently in place for Class I
transmissions are antiquated and must not be extended to Classes
II ; III , and IV transmissions :
C: Permit telephone companies to own and operate cable
systems so long as :
�J 1 ) regulations are in place to prevent cross
subsidization between a company ' s cable and telephone operations ;
and
2 ) all other requirements of a local franchise
agreement; including existing fees; franchising process and
regulatory mechanisms that govern city cable franchise relations ;
are enforceable at law against a telephone company operating as a
cable provider :
D : Encourage telephone and cable companies to deploy
fiber optic cable to the house , so the maximum number of
Americans will benefit from the abundance of the Information Age
services and programming that could be provided over a switched
fiber network :
E: Mandate that as a term and condition of availing
themselves of the benefits of compulsory licensing ., cable
operators carry local television signals on their basic cable
service tiers :
F. Prohibit video programmers affiliated with cable
systems from discriminating against non-affiliated cable systems
and alternative multichannel video programming distributors in
the price , terms , conditions or availability of their
programming .
RESOLUTION N0: 90-09
PAGE 3
ADOPTED this 28th day of June , 1990
ATTEST:
- y C;I er k 'd-F-9 o City o May r o f t o C i ty o Gran
Yand-Terrace and of the TerLrace and of the City
City Council thereof: Council thereof:
I ; JUANITA J: BROWN; City Clerk of the City of Grand
Terrace , hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was
introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council
of the City of Grand Terrace held on the 28th day of June ; 19903,
by the following vote :
AYES : Councilmembers Pfennighausen , Carlstrom , Mayor Pro Tem
Grant ; Mayor Matteson
NOES : None
ABSENT : Councilmember Singley
ABSTAIN : None
rIr/CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FROM :
CIT ATT RN