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from: TCTA Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Stacey Briggs (615) 585-6645
or Joe Hall Hall Strategies (615) 242-8856

April 16, 2007 Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association (TCTA)

PHONE COMPANIES TO REQUIRE LARGE BOXES FOR CABLE PRODUCT

NASHVILLE – With state issued franchising through AT&T’s proposed legislation (SB 1933/HB 1421), AT&T will have unlimited authority to put refrigerator- sized boxes on public property in any location.

The boxes would likely be the very same as those deployed in other markets – about 5 feet 3 inches tall, almost 4 feet deep and nearly two feet wide, and be placed in the public utility easement, typically 10 feet from the sidewalk. These “AT&T Lightspeed” boxes are required for every 300 homes to provide their cable product (UVerse).

Homeowners might imagine a box nearly the size of a soft drink machine or refrigerator permanently stationed just off the sidewalk.

“Can you say, ‘constituent complaints’?” asks Stacey Briggs, Executive Director of Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association. “These eyesores could end up in your own front yard, and this legislation strips local governments of the ability to do anything whatsoever to help. It’s a bad idea.”

The Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association has arranged a replica on display this week in Legislative Plaza. It is located in the main hallway, just outside of Speaker Naifeh’s office.

In Tennessee, both the Tennessee Municipal League and Tennessee County Services Association also oppose SB 1933 / HB 1421, known as the Competitive Cable and Video Services Act.

For more information, go to www.KeepItLocalTennessee.com.