Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7 and Title 65.

Generally under present law, a municipality operating an electric plant may, within its service area and on behalf of its municipality, contract to establish a joint venture or other business relationship with one or more third parties to provide cable service, two-way video transmission, video programming, internet services, or any other like system, plant, or equipment. This bill removes the limitation on such other services being provided only in the service area of the municipal electric plant.<br /> <br /> Present law specifies that the above-described authorization to provide other services does not apply in any area:<br /> <br /> (1) Where a privately held cable television operator is providing cable service over a cable system and in total serves 6,000 or fewer subscribers over one or more cable systems; or<br /> (2) Of any existing telephone cooperative that has been providing cable service for not less than 10 years under the authority of the federal communications commission. <br /> <br /> This bill creates an exception to the above-described provision for internet services, so that such services may be provided in the areas described above in (1) and (2).<br /> <br />