It looks like the major telephone companies will be able to more easily compete against cable TV operators in California after a unanimous vote by that state's Assembly, reports the
Sacramento
Bee. The lower house voted 77-0 in favor of AB 2987, and the Senate will take it up this summer. The bill provides for a blanket agreement allowing telephone companies to offer cable TV service
in the Golden State, eliminating the need for them to cut separate deals with every municipality. The telcos claim that more competition means lower prices and better service. "We have to have a
better product at a better price to win customers," says a spokesman for AT&T. But "none of these players wants to enter into a price war," notes Jimmy Schaeffler, an analyst for the Carmel Group who
follows the cable TV industry. "What's going to happen is that these new entrants will offer new products that will help them stand apart."
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