UPDATE 2-U.S. court upholds new FCC video franchising rules
ju4 wa4i dia4n zo1ng he2 ba4o da4o :\n  (Rewrites first paragraph, adds comment from FCC, Verizon, cable\noperators)\nBy Peter Kaplan\nWASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday\nhanded a victory to new competitors in the subscription television\nbusiness like Verizon Communications Inc <VZ.N> and AT&T Inc\n<T.N>, upholding new federal rules designed to ease their entry\ninto local communities.\nThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati\nturned down a petition by cable operators and municipal officials\nseeking to overturn the new regulations adopted by the FCC in\nDecember.\nA three-judge panel of the court concluded that the FCC acted\nreasonably and was within its authority when it adopted the new\nrules, which set time limits for local authorities to act on\napplications by new television providers.\nAT&T and Verizon had complained that under previous rules the\nprocess to get licenses from local authorities was too cumbersome\nand time-consuming.\nUnder the new rules, local jurisdictions have 90 days to act\non applications by new television providers that already have\naccess to city land to run connections and 180 days for new\nentrants to cities and towns. They also bar local officials from\nimposing requirements on new entrants, such as building a local\nswimming pool, that the FCC said are unreasonable.\nIn the opinion released on Friday, the appeals court judges\nrejected arguments by local officials and the trade association\nrepresenting cable operators such as Comcast Corp <CMCSA.O> and\nTime Warner Cable <TWC.N>. They argued the FCC had overstepped its\nauthority.\nThe court said there was "ample record evidence supporting the\nCommission's finding that the operation of the franchising process\nhad impeded competitive entry in multiple ways."\nFCC Chairman Kevin Martin praised the decision, saying it\nwould "ensure that new competitors to cable are not subjected to\nunreasonable delays, build-out requirements and fees when trying\nto compete with the incumbent cable operators."\n"Consumers need greater choice and more competition to help\naddress the soaring price of cable television," Martin said.\nVerizon and AT&T also lauded the decision. "The FCC decision\nwas pro-consumer and pro-competition and encouraged the deployment\nof bigger and smarter broadband networks across our nation's\ncommunities.We are heartened that the FCC's decision was\nupheld," AT&T senior vice president Robert Quinn said in a\nstatement.\nThe decision was met with a muted response from the cable\nindustry. Its trade association, the National Cable &\nTelecommunications Association, said the new rules had been made\nmore palatable through a measure subsequently adopted by the FCC.\nThe cable association said the market for video service "is\nintensely competitive and consumers are enjoying more choice, more\nservices and better value than ever before."\n(Editing by Brian Moss, editing by Phil Berlowitz)\n((peter.kaplan@thomsonreuters.com; 1 202 898 8463, fax: 1 202\n898 8383; Reuters Messaging:\npeter.kaplan.reuters.com@reuters.net))\nKeywords: COURT FCC/