AUSTIN – The Texas Cable & Telecommunications Association issued the following statement today as AT&T and state officials visited Sabine Pass to discuss Senate Bill 5 (the new telecommunications reform law) and AT&T’s plans to offer DSL in rural areas. The statement below can be attributed to Kirsten Voinis, spokesperson for TCTA:
“Texas cable operators are glad that AT&T is joining us in finally making high-speed Internet accessible to rural communities. Cable companies are proud to already provide high-speed Internet access – at speeds three times as fast as DSL – to Texans in numerous small towns across the state, including Sabine Pass.
“We’re surprised that AT&T would mislead Governor Perry by allowing him to believe that broadband in this community is new, when Sabine Pass residents have enjoyed high-speed Internet access from Time Warner since early 2001.
“While the telephone companies talk, the cable industry works, deploying advanced services without a single government handout. The cable industry has been aggressive in the rollout of high speed Internet, digital cable and lower priced phone services because that’s what our customers want – value, choice and quality service, not empty promises and PR stunts.
“AT&T has had broadband technology for years – it’s too bad that it’s taken so long to reach Sabine Pass and other communities. It could have been done long before the passage of Senate Bill 5, Texas’ new telecommunications law, which contains no provisions that enhance broadband deployment.
“This is just another example of AT&T continuing to trumpet ‘news’ about services that aren’t new for cable operators. Cable operators have been setting the standard for innovation in the video services and high speed internet business without ever having the luxury of a guaranteed return on investment or massive government subsidies afforded to the phone companies. Yet the phone companies still have a long way to go to catch up.”
TCTA has filed lawsuits in state and federal courts against the Public Utility Commission of Texas to overturn SB 5. More information can be found on TCTA’s Web site at www.txcable.com.
