Arnold Schwarzenegger Saved The Telephone Industry

There must have been some reason that the Terminator was elected governor of California, but no one can quite remember.

But, this last week, the muscle-bound chief executive of our largest state signed a bill that will expand the regulation of cable TV so that it is statewide. Until now it has been handled by local government.

The opening of the system actually does little for cable operators. At least not much that is obvious. It is, however, a boon to the telephone companies that plan to compete with cable to bring TV to the home. Even the governor acknowledged as much in his heavy Austrian accent : "This bill will add another significant player into the cable television marketplace and help speed the spread of new and innovative technologies across the state".

Local government has been the bane of the telephone companies as they work to market television to consumers along with high-speed internet and voice service. Each city, town, and village could throw its own laws in the paths of the phone companies, and often did.

Now, if only the phone companies can get Schwarzenegger elected president.