Telcos and 238

by Joy Gullikson, Attorney
    
     Many traditional telephone companies (telcos) now offer internet and television services. This is not news, they’ve been doing it for years. In order to provide television services, telcos know that they must first obtain a cable franchise from the local franchising authority. The state statute covering cable issues is Minnesota Statutes Chapter 238.

     Telcos are used to the vagaries and subtleties of the Telecommunications Statute, Minn. Stat. § 237. Chapter 237 governs pricing, mergers and acquisitions, service quality, conditions for competition and methods for governing the filing of complaints. The Chapter guides the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) and the MPUC writes rules that specifically address the implementation of Chapter 237. Telco representatives have appeared before the MPUC for years, they know the staff and the staff of the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Simply put, telcos know the rules of the game. They know where to push, when to concede, and generally how to operate profitably within the given parameters.

     It is tougher to know where to push in Chapter 238. There is no state forum that convenes for the purpose of addressing and resolving cable issues. No one in the state writes rules that implement the requirements of Chapter 238. Vagaries and subtleties are harder to determine, because the courts are the interpreters of the statute, and rules are set at the interstate level by the FCC. In addition, telcos simply do not have the long experience with Chapter 238 as they have with Chapter 237.

     In order to make the most of the television side of the business, however, telcos need to become as immersed in Chapter 238 as they have been in Chapter 237.