Will bill tilt cable rates?

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Kane County TV viewers soon might be able to record shows online using their cellular telephones, as well as download movies onto their TV, and watch sports games from different angles.

The viewing features would be possible through an AT&T phone, Internet and video service called U-verse, AT&T Illinois spokeswoman Cara Birch said.

However, legislation awaiting the governor’s signature that would allow AT&T to get the service up and running more quickly has some drawbacks, critics say.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich has 57 days to sign or veto the bill, which includes the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007 and the Cable and Video Customers Protection Law.

The law would allow companies that traditionally did not provide cable TV service, such as telecommunications giant AT&T, to enter the market without having to establish separate agreements with each town in its service area.

Instead, the companies would have to meet customer-service standards that are more customer-friendly than national standards, said Roger Huebner, attorney for the Illinois Municipal League.

Huebner said it is too early to tell how similar laws passed in 16 other states have affected prices. In most of those states, AT&T is still in the construction and marketing phase of its U-verse service, Huebner said.

Telecommunications companies would only have to provide service to half of the homes in their markets after five years under the new law, while cable companies have to serve 100 percent of homes, said Annie Collins, who chairs a citizens group called Fiber for Our Future.

“It’s a totally different set of rules,” Collins said. “I’m not necessarily a friend of the cable industry, but I want what’s fair.”

Proponents of the measure have argued that it will give consumers more choices for TV service, better customer-service standards and lower prices.

Marc Blakeman, regional vice president for external affairs at AT&T Illinois, said a government study shows that when telephone companies entered the cable TV market, their prices for TV service were 15 percent to 42 percent lower than cable companies.

Wendy Matusek of Woodstock said she would have saved about $50 a month by switching from Comcast’s Internet service to AT&T’s satellite dish, phone and Internet service. But she lost faith in the company when she moved to a new home two blocks away and had to talk to 25 different people to get her new phone service installed and billing problems sorted out, she said.

“Do they think they can handle TV, Internet and phone service?” she asked. “Take it from me, they can't.”

Gary Mack, a spokesman for the Cable Television and Communications Association of Illinois, said he would be surprised if the law would lead to lower prices.

“Competition is always good for consumers,” Mack said. “But the industry is highly competitive right now.

“Don’t forget that there is already a one-third market penetration by satellite TV companies that already compete with cable.”

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns said he was happy with the way the final version of the bill turned out.

“I am proud of the efforts by our representatives in Springfield to negotiate some of the positions that matter most to the municipalities,” Burns said.

“... We trust [AT&T is] going to do a good job, but we’ll be watching them and the various providers as we always have been.”

Proposed cable rules

• Large companies like AT&T would have to provide access to service for 35 percent of homes in its coverage area within three years and 50 percent of homes after five years.

• Thirty percent of the homes eligible for service must be low-income.

• Subscribers would be able to cancel their service within 60 days with no cancellation charge.

• Service contracts could be no longer than one year.

• Customers would be given a four-hour time window for service appointments.

• Subscribers would receive bill credits if their service was not installed within one week or their service was out for more than 48 hours.