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To: FR1 who wrote (5391)	2/14/1999 7:30:00 AM
From: Jay Lowe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

>> local counties do not have the right to over rule laws made at a higher level The point is that the franchisor does have the right to yank the franchise from the franchisee ... under certain conditions according to a certain process. TCI doesn't "own" the right to do business in specific areas, it contracts that right from local governments. And those contracts have terms and conditions.

To: FR1 who wrote (5391)	2/14/1999 9:58:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Hi Franz, >Otherwise every county in the nation would start doing crazy things. < We live in crazy times, relatively speaking. I'm not prepared to speak in definitive terms here, for reasons that can be inferred from my first statement. Let's give one of your other points a closer look: >> ...if the feds say it is ok for T to have all of what TCI owns, then some local county can not veto that decision.<< Under what sets of governing precepts do each of these bodies (the fed and the county) project their respective authorities? In the case of the fed, are they ruling on the basis of cable law, in the entertainment sense, or are they waving their wand from their common carrier purview? If the FCC loses their position on one, they can ultimately fall back to the other. And the county? Are they merely concerned with the contractual terms of the operator as they relate to local franchise privileges, business as usual, i.e., awarding of public rights of way for cable tv entities? Or, are they now assuming the role of an ad-hoc and localized public utilities commission in the broader context, since the new services will involve capabilities that go far beyond providing entertainment services in the traditional sense? In other words, the new cable facility will provide cable TV, Internet Access and Voice services, not simply programmed television delivery I think we finally have the seed here for some new regulatory law, although I don't think that it will come to pass. I certainly don't have the answers, nor can I predict what the outcome will be, because, again, we live in crazy times. What do you think? Regards, Frank Coluccio