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Comcast builds team with power lobbyists

Posted on: Monday, 7 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

WASHINGTON - Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider, is hiring some of the most politically connected lobbyists in the capital as important policy decisions that will affect the industry near.

Over the past four months, the Philadelphia-based company has hired an adviser to Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, the former chief of staff to retired House Republican leader Dick Armey and the counsel to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., whose committee has jurisdiction over broadcast, cable and satellite questions.

Additionally, the sister-in-law of White House chief of staff Andrew Card is a Comcast consultant.

Comcast executives said the hires simply represent an effort to enhance the company's image since it became the top cable provider in November with its $29 billion acquisition of AT&T Broadband. They acknowledge the company will step up its role as Washington oversees regulation of new technology and business operations in the cable industry.

"There aren't any major, major issues looming that I think are of crisis proportions," said Kerry Knott, Comcast vice president. Knott worked for Armey, R-Texas, for 14 years and lobbied for Microsoft before joining Comcast in March to head its Washington office.

Consumer watchdogs say it is no coincidence that Comcast's lobbying office is getting a boost just as Congress, the federal courts and the Federal Communications Commission consider issues that could have a significant impact on the cable industry.

The issues include:

Raising the FCC's current 30 percent cap on nationwide ownership of cable operators by a single company to as high as 45 percent. Comcast claims ownership of 28.1 percent of the nation's cable operators; a recent study by the Center for Public Integrity estimated its share at 31.4 percent.

Curbing cable bills, which have surged about 50 percent since 1996. Congress is examining whether rate increases result from stymied competition among cable providers. Cable companies say the price spike is caused by higher programming costs passed along from networks, especially sports channels. Comcast's rates, company officials said, have risen by 2 cents per channel over the past four years.

Regulating cable companies under the same standards used for telephone companies in providing high-speed Internet service. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing an FCC ruling that exempted cable companies from the regulations, which would save them, some believe, from a major surge in costs. Comcast serves 3.3 million high-speed Internet customers, or about 13 percent of the nationwide market.

On the Internet: Comcast: http://www.comcast.com/

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