• Fiber for our Future
• MuniWireless.com
• National Association of Counties (NACo), Telecommunications and Technology
• National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)
• National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA)
• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Telecommunications
• National League of Cities (NLC), Telecommunications & Technology
• TeleCommUnity
• Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA)
• CUWin Foundation

• The Global Village CAT

• Mapping Access

• Alliance for Community Media

• Columbia Journalism Review, "Who Owns What"
• Media Access Project
• Media & Democracy Coalition
• U.S. PIRG
  
• New America Foundation
• Common Cause
• Consumers Union
• http://mediaresearchhub.ssrc.org
• Free Press
  
• Consumer Federation of America
• Institute for Public Representation
• Media Alliance
• Youth Media Council
  
• Media Tank
• National Hispanic Media Coalition
• Office of Communications of the United Church of Christ

P.E.G. Access: Cable channels that are given to communities as compensation by cable providers who lay cables under public rights-of-way (streets, sidewalks, etc.) These facilities, sometimes called community media centers, exist primarily to give local residents access to television equipment, training and noncommercial time on designated cable channels.

Key House Panel Votes to Kill Community TV

By: Jeff Chester
The Nation
April 2006

Congress is about to strike a blow that would eliminate the last remaining policy insuring local oversight of communications companies. A GOP-led effort on behalf of the telephone lobby (principally Verizon and AT&T), also backed by many Democrats, is about to toss in the dustbin the longstanding policy enabling cities or counties to negotiate a "franchise" agreement with companies that provide cable TV service. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted Wednesday 42-12, to strip away the rights of communities to have any say in how phone and cable networks serve them in the digital era.

As Verizon and AT&T roll out their broadband Internet and video services, they wish to remove any obstacle to securing lucrative revenues from signing up customers from the wealthiest parts of the country. The phone giants complain that current law requires them to negotiate with each town (as cable TV currently does) to develop a unique deal that benefits the community, and that giving local officials the authority to have an oversight role is slowing down their business plans.