Part of Our Community

By definition, cable service is a local service. Cable companies are awarded non-exclusive "franchises" to serve local communities. Local cities may grant several franchises in the same community. In addition to offering customers a variety of video and broadband services, cable systems make substantial contributions to the area they serve:
  • In exchange for its franchise, cable operators often set aside channels for government, public and educational use, allowing members of the community to produce and show unique local programming.
  • Cable systems often provide studio and production facilities to make the local programs possible.
  • Cable systems pay "franchise fees" (usually 5 percent of the system's video revenues) as a local community contribution.
  • Government-mandated public interest obligations require that "equal time" be given to candidates running for public office and that advertising sales be restricted on children's TV shows. n Local cable companies continue to be significant charitable contributors to a wide variety of social and cultural community causes.

Cable Serves Many Communities

Unlike most communications competitors, cable is regulated at the federal, state and local levels—so it never loses sight of the importance of remaining actively involved in all of them. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) represents the complex legislative and regulatory goals of the national cable industry. CCTA works as an advocate on behalf of our state's unique cable customers, operators and businesses. But most important, in every case, cable operators are local businesses—with local employees serving local customers. At every level, cable is actively working to make its communities better. Here are a few examples:

Cable as Local Citizen

In addition to programs initiated by the cable industry, every year California cable operators make sizeable contributions to their own local charities to assist a variety of important programs. A 2000 survey found that cable operators in California gave more than $56 million to local charities to support local California charities supporting the arts, sporting events, food drives, YMCAs, pageants, concerts, auctions, hospitals, and shelters for abused women and children — among many others.

Cable as State Citizen

The California Channel, modeled after C-SPAN, is supported by California cable operators and brings gavel-to-gavel coverage of the state legislature and other public affair programs to Californians. Now in its 10th year, The California Channel has won an Emmy Award for its public affairs programs. As a public service it recently aired Cable's Free Air Time Project—presenting personal interviews of all statewide general election candidates.

Take Your Parents to Cyberschool was initiated by the national "Cable in the Classroom" program. As part of an effort to put parents more in control of their kids' viewing habits, this program brings kids and parents together to discuss media content on the Internet. CCTA joined forces with the California PTA to link information about this innovative program to state educators and parents.

Safe From the Start is a statewide program sponsored by the California Attorney General's Office, the California Children and Families Commission, Court TV, CCTA and others, to provide regional forums and workshops for California community leaders to help improve the health and reduce the number of children exposed to violence.

Cable as Federal Citizen

Cable Positive is the cable industry's national non-profit organization dedicated to unifying the talents, resources, access and influence of the communications industry to raise AIDS awareness. Cable Positive funds AIDS education, research and care, and promotes a compassionate climate for people whose lives have been afffected by HIV and AIDS. The industry has donated millions of dollars of air time telecasting PSAs that inform and educate about the virus that infects thousands of people every day.

Cable's High Speed Education Connection is the industry's national program to wire schools and libraries in every community it serves to high-speed Internet access through cable modems. Launched in 1996, this commitment provides K-12 schools and public libraries passed by cable with a free cable modem and free high-speed Internet access. The program includes webTeacher, a teacher-training component helping teachersintegrate the Internet into class curriculum.