FCC listening to comments as phone companies work hard to remove your opporunity to benefit from public access

This is related to yesterday's blog
Public Access and PEG channels have been around for over three decades. Watching the way phone company lobbiest influence legislators you might think these people have been living in a dictatorship in a far off place on the globe. They seem to have no idea on the true value and benefits public access can provide to a community.
So while a couple of phone and cable companies provide their lawyers and lobbyist with millions of dollars to bribe or to purchase the best legislation money can buy to enhance their profit margin, fortunately for the people, we still live in a democracy where thousands of people can vote. Hopefully our vote still has value because as I write this, the Beneton Foundation informs us that John Eggerton has authored a post in the Broadcasting & Cable site stating that the FCC is takes Comments on Request that Public, Educational, and Government Cable Channels Get "Equal Footing"
The Beneton site states:

FCC TAKES COMMENTS ON REQUEST THAT PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND GOVERNMENT CABLE CHANNELS GET "EQUAL FOOTING"

Over 200 commenters have contributed to a Federal Communications Commission proceeding investigating whether public, educational and government cable channels should be on an equal footing" with basic commercial channels. In January, community media groups joined with a nationwide coalition of municipalities and regional organizations asked the FCC to launch the proceeding, charging that telecom giant AT&T discriminates against local public channels with its U-verse cable TV system. In states from California to Connecticut, wherever AT&T is providing video programming, its U-Verse system removes local PEG channels from the standard lineup, dumping dozens of channels into a generic "Channel 99" - stripping away individual channel identities and depriving those channels of basic functions viewers have come to expect.
There is a link to the full B&C story there to read more.