Velma Cruz
Vice President & General Counsel
512-474-2082
Ryan Weiseman
Legislative Director
512-474-2082
Kevin Jean
Government Relations Coordinator
512-474-2082
For more than 50 years, TCA has provided its member companies with a single, unified voice on issues affecting the cable and telecommunications industry in Texas. TCA is proud of the role the cable industry has played in development of competition for video, high-speed Internet and telephone services in Texas.
Our member companies include Cable One, Charter, Comcast, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable and Vyve Broadband.
The 85th Texas Legislature convened on Tuesday, January 10, 2017. Stay tuned for more information on legislative issues impacting the Texas cable industry.
The cable industry is working with legislators to address a number of issues that will continue to move the state’s telecommunications marketplace forward.
Since its inception, cable companies have provided video services to customers under franchise agreements that governed terms and conditions for use of the rights of way, within a regulatory framework established by various federal statutes, such as the 1992 Cable Act and the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
The Texas Legislature in 2005 became the first state in the nation to usher in a new regulatory framework for providers of video services, with the exception of direct broadcast satellite providers. Traditional telephone providers had the right to offer video services by pursuing individual franchises as the cable industry had done for decades, but they didn’t want to go city-by-city to negotiate agreements. So, they pushed for a state-franchising regime under which they could more easily offer video service. The ground-breaking legislation, known as Senate Bill 5, allowed new landline video providers to file a simple form with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to offer service to a particular community.
