TELECOM; NETWORK NEUTRALITY DEBATE MOVES TO MICHIGAN

Opponents of a measure in Michigan to overhaul the state's video-franchising rules have thrown a new wrinkle into their argument.


Debate over the measure now has shifted to how it will allow high-speed Internet operators to treat online content. Discussion over network neutrality provisions to ensure equal treatment of similar content derailed a federal telecommunications proposal earlier this year. This is the first time network neutrality has become a major issue at the state level.


California, Indiana, Kansas, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia all have enacted recent laws to ease the entrance into the video services market. Large telephone companies pushing new video offerings have lobbied hard for such measures, most of which allow them to bypass localities completely by negotiating statewide franchises.


Earlier this month, the Michigan House overwhelmingly approved a bill to that end, but it might meet more resistance in the Senate. Democrats regained control of the state House this month but fell a few seats short seizing the other chamber.


A coalition of various opposition groups on Tuesday held a rally in Lansing to urge lawmakers in the Wolverine State not to act on the measure, H.B. 6456, during the state's post-election session. The event included representatives from the Michigan chapter of the Alliance for Community Media, the Consumer Federation of America, Google, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, and Save the Internet, a pro-net neutrality group that includes Google.


The groups sponsoring the event said they have prepared more than 18,000 petitions to deliver to state senators.


In an e-mail, Google Senior Policy Council Adam McLaughlin said net neutrality safeguards are necessary to ensure that competition is protected in Michigan. Google currently is building an office and research center in Ann Arbor.


"What we're asking for is very simple: Protect the consumer by making sure telephone and cable companies don't restrict the services that are available," McLaughlin said. "Google would never have grown beyond a garage project if Internet providers had been able to block or slow access by individuals. It is essential for Michigan to preserve the Internet as an unmatched platform for innovation and job creation."


Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was re-elected earlier this month, has not taken a position on the bill. Spokeswoman Liz Boyd said Granholm's staff recently has met with representatives from AT&T and Google. "The governor's focus is on doing what's best for consumers," Boyd said.


In a phone interview, David Pettit of the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan said the pending bill is a "massive handout" to AT&T that would harm local programming and change the nature of the Internet in a way that would harm consumers. AT&T spokesman Mike Marker said that Google's last-minute entrance to the debate has distracted lawmakers from video-franchising reform and that Google knows net neutrality cannot be addressed at the state level.


Proponents of the measure also have increased their efforts recently. Last week, Mike McMurry and Chris Wolf, the co-chairs of Hands off the Internet, released a statement blasting Google's calls for net neutrality safeguards in Michigan. "Their 'solution' would add an unworkable regulatory framework to legislation that had achieved bipartisan support for bringing video choice to consumers in the state," they said. - By Michael Martinez