State
Regulator Pulling Plug On Cable Access?
DCCA
considers plan to withhold public funds from community TV providers.
Sean McLaughlin
HONOLULU–
Governor Lingle's newly reactivated Cable Advisory Committee (“CAC”)
met Jan. 19 to hear updates on recent and pending State actions
relating to regulation of Hawai‘i’s sole franchised
cable TV operator, Time Warner.
Agenda item III.C. for the CAC was "PEG Contracts –
Public comment meetings regarding Request for Proposals (RFP)
under the State Procurement Code." The Department of Commerce
and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) announced some troubling news - the
State Procurement Office recently denied a requested exemption
for DCCA that would have allowed them to continue protracted contract
negotiations with the four County-based community access TV (PEG
– Public, Educational and Government) providers.
| 
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| Endangered
species. AKAKU may face extinction unless enough
public support is garnered. |
Closed-door
negotiations between DCCA and PEG providers serving each County
have been ongoing for more than two years. Through a series of
temporary extensions combined with a one hundred thousand dollar
($100,000.) publicly funded audit, DCCA has increased control
and tightened the State’s grip on community access media
organizations that are nominally independent.
DCCA Director Mark Recktenwald announced last week that he is
considering withholding half of the cable franchise fee payments
from community access providers statewide - 'Olelo serves only
O'ahu, Akaku: Maui Community TV serves Maui Nui, Na Leo O Hawaii
on the Big Island, and Ho'ike: Kauai Community TV for the Garden
Island.
Such a decision by DCCA could withhold or divert millions of dollars
of scheduled public service payments by Time Warner. The rationale
offered for such a precipitous move is to more rapidly address
DCCA’s current violation of State procurement law, which
has been ongoing for some years. DCCA may be required to conduct
an "RFP" process immediately. In that case, current
extensions of the PEG contracts to June 30, 2006 could be allowed
to expire, creating the opportunity for new contracts to be let
by DCCA with the remainder of cable franchise funds for the second
half of the calendar year 2006.
In comments at the CAC meeting, 'Olelo's CEO Keali'i Lopez requested
immediate notification if DCCA would withhold half of the scheduled
annual cable franchise fee payments, and noted that DCCA had requested
and accepted annual budgets from the community access TV (PEG)
providers that anticipated receipt of the entire annual payment
on January 31, 2006.
Access media and free speech advocates can feel the State's leash
tightening and are once again calling for a first-ever audit of
the DCCA’s Cable TV Division to address public concerns
about the State’s close relations with Time Warner.
DCCA hearings have been scheduled on four islands on Wednesdays
in February: Feb. 1 in Hilo, Feb. 8 in Lihue, Feb. 15 in Kahului
and Feb. 22 in Honolulu. For times and locations of hearings,
click
here.
Under the current regime, DCCA's director appoints the PEG access
TV board members and oversees their operations through the State’s
controversial appointed CATV division head, Clyde Sonobe. By law
(HRS Chapt. 440G), Governor Lingle appoints CAC members subject
to State Senate approval, but the CAC only "advises"
the DCCA director and cable operators "at their request."
For more CAC information, click
here.
Hawai‘i Consumers, a local advocacy organization, feels
that crucial consumer protection and public interest concerns
are ignored by DCCA even while cable access providers statewide
are under increasing State control. Hawaii’s Consumers state
that cable’s monopoly prices and services are effectively
unregulated, and consumer protection for cable TV and cable modem
customers is woefully inadequate.
At increasing risk are the essential principles of local media
regulation which are designed to protect localism, competition
and diversity. Hawaii cable regulation lacks transparent oversight
and local accountability not only for community access TV, but
also for consumer protection, public safety, non-discrimination,
equal opportunity, and other best practices for proper local regulation
of cable, telecom and broadband media – these are key public
interest policy considerations of concern to Hawaii Consumers.
Independent media advocates are urging people to attend the hearings
and testify.
For more information contact Hawaii Consumers, P.O. Box 179375,
Honolulu, HI 96817, c/o Sean McLaughlin, call 808-447-9610 (Honolulu)
and 808-283-3174 (Maui) or e-mail at sean808@earthlink.net.
