AT&T’s U-Verse PEG product is being investigated by the Illinois ...
AT&T’s U-Verse PEG product is being investigated by the Illinois Attorney General’s office to determine whether its treatment of public, educational and government access channels complies with state law, a consumer advocacy group said. A Dec. 22 statement by…
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Chicago Access Network Television attributed word of AG Lisa Madigan’s investigation to the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, a Chicago-area advocacy group. The 2007 Illinois Cable and Video Competition Law requires that PEG channels be delivered at signal quality and functionality equivalent to that for commercial channels. AT&T, the first video provider to get an Illinois state franchise, claims its U-Verse system can’t do that, CANTV said. A study by the Illinois unit of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, representing local government officials, said technology is available to allow delivery of PEG channels on U-Verse without the AT&T system’s deficiencies, CANTV said. U-Verse pulls local PEG channels from the standard cable lineup, grouping them under Channel 99, “stripping away individual channel identities and depriving those channels of basic functions viewers have come to expect,” CANTV said. “AT&T subscribers can no longer tune to the familiar cable channel for the village board meeting or homework help program,” the group said. “Viewers can’t switch between commercial and PEG channels, set a DVR to record a PEG program, receive closed captioning, or depend on getting timely local emergency alerts.” AT&T and the AG’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.