AT&T and Verizon Communications were awarded a victory by the U.s. House of Representatives Thursday when they approved a bill that will make it easier for them to provide subcription television service.
The bill was passed by a vote of 321 to 101 and allows companies to apply for a nationwide license to provide TV service in place of having to negotiate with every individual city to get permission.
The bill came about from the expansion of cable companies into the communications business putting the phone carriers into a less competitive position. This will help them to expand speedily.
Joe Barton, a Texas Republican and an author of the bill said that the current climate is "hindering the deployment of advanced broadband networks that will bring increasingly innovative and competitive services."
With several states already passing laws that are helping telephone carriers, the result has led to price wars with the cable operators, which is of course good for consumers.
The approval of the bill gives the FCC authority to enforce what it adopted last year to make sure that Internet providers allow consumers access to content that run from any Internet-based application. Penalties for violation were increased from $500,000 to $750,000.
Verizon and AT&T have said they won't hinder access to the open Internet but do want to give consumers the choice of premium services that will offer faster downloads for video intensive content.
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