In testimony in Washington on Oct 30, at the video programming access hearing before the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection, Mr. Phillips said:

• ``When satellite television viewers in rural America face copyright royalty fees 8 to 10 times higher than urban viewers for the same network and superstation programming, as the Librarian of Congress ordered earlier this week, I submit that is a denial of access to programming.''
• ``These types of copyright problems are clearly running afoul of Congress' pro-competitive telecommunications policies, and rural America is paying the price.''
• ``The current satellite copyright process simply does not work. It has resulted in discriminatory, anticompetitive, anti-satellite, anti-rural copyright rates compared to the copyright rates paid by the cable industry and its subscribers.''
• ``It is a shameful breach of public trust for government to essentially award such an enormous competitive advantage to one industry at the expense of another. This problem requires a legislative solution.''
• On program access: ``Without the possibility of an award of damages, the FCC's program access rules lack teeth. The law as currently enforced by the FCC is insufficient to ensure congressional intent to increase competition in programming markets.''

NRTC is a not-for-profit cooperative comprised of nearly 800 rural electric and rural telephone systems, and affiliated companies. NRTC delivers telecommunications products and services that enhance and protect rural life, including access to the Internet and satellite television. Currently, more than 650,000 families receive their DIRECTV(R) small-dish satellite television programming from NRTC members and affiliates. Additionally, more than 61,000 families with large-dish C-band systems receive Rural TV(R) from NRTC members. Visit NRTC's Web site: www.nrtc.org. DIRECTV is an official trademark of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. Community
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