I have a few more db's to search and other names still. These articles outline his lobbying work in the past and note his transition from Ameritech to USTA.

Computer Database

"Ameritech's cable TV future hangs on SBC merger decision." Telecommunications Reports 6 July 1998: 20+. Computer Database. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA20949721&v=2.1&u=olym65314&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w


Title:Ameritech's cable TV future hangs on SBC merger decisionSource:Telecommunications Reports..64.27 (July 6, 1998): p20.Document Type:ArticleFull Text:
The future of Ameritech Corp.'s cable TV overbuild efforts
remains up in the air because of the company's pending $61 billion
merger with SBC Communications, Inc. (TR, May 18), Ameritech Vice
President-federal relations Gary R. Lytle said last week. Nevertheless,
"without giving an emphatic yes or no, it's clear that the initial
reaction [from SBC] is positive," Mr. Lytle said.


SBC hasn't decided whether it wants to continue Ameritech New
Media, Inc.'s foray into cable TV, he said. Ameritech New Media has 76
cable franchises in the Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Columbus markets, 54
of which are offering service.


Meanwhile, as SBC ponders Ameritech New Media's fate, the
fledgling cable TV operator is continuing its campaign against companies it
alleges violate the program access provisions of the 1934 Communications Act,
as amended (TR, Feb. 9).


Ameritech New Media filed a complaint last Wednesday against Tune
Warner Cable and MediaOne Group, Inc., alleging that the exclusive
programming contracts they signed with ESPN's Classic Sports Network
will force Ameritech to drop the channel from its services Jan. 1, 1999.
Ameritech's nonexclusive programming contracts with the channel expire
Dec. 31.


"Sports programming is very critical to customers, and you need
that programming to be a viable [multichannel TV] choice," Ameritech New
Media President Deborah Lenart said.


In response to Ameritech's complaint, Time Warner has decided
not to exercise its exclusivity rights in areas where it competes with
Ameritech, said Lynn Yeager, Time Warner Cable vice president-corporate
affairs. "We reviewed the issues they raised and decided [retaining
exclusivity] was not significant in the areas we compete against them,"
she said.


Ameritech had planned to name Comcast Corp. in the complaint. But
Comcast notified Ameritech last week that it planned to renegotiate with
Classic Sports to remove the exclusivity clause, Ms. Lenart said. Ameritech
did not include Classic Sports in its complaint because "we believe it
is the operators driving this and trying to slow us down," she added.


At Ameritech's urging, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry
J. Hyde (R., Ill.) introduced a bill, HR 3559, earlier this year to prohibit
incumbent cable TV operators from entering into exclusive programming
contracts (TR, March 30). Any such contracts would be"presumed" to
violate antitrust laws. Any contract that provided programming on a"more
favorable basis" for an incumbent "without a demonstrable cost
differential" also would be "presumed" to violate antitrust
laws. The bill has gained 11 co-sponsors since its introduction, but its
chances of becoming law this year are slim, congressional sources told TR.


In addition to pleading their program access case, Ameritech
officials also urged regulators to approve the SBC-Ameritech deal. Mr. Lytle
argued that the proposed arrangement, as well as the recently announced
AT

The AT

Regulators have stalled telecommunications competition by not
allowing Ameritech to offer in-region interLATA (local access and transport
area) services, Mr. Lytle continued. "We think our markets are open to
competition right now," he said. "The Act, to this point, has not
been effectively implemented." Ameritech is unlikely to reapply to
provide interLATA services in Michigan - or to apply anywhere else - until
the courts resolve the issue of shared transport, he added.

Abstract:
SBC Communications Inc remains undecided in pursuing the merger plan
with Ameritech New Media Inc. The $61 billion merger may help Ameritech New
Media advance its campaign against other cable television broadcasting
companies who allegedly violated the program access provisions stated in the
Communications Act of 1934. Despite the pending merger plan, Ameritech New
Media anticipates favorable decision from SBC Communications.

Source Citation "Ameritech's cable TV future hangs on SBC merger decision." Telecommunications Reports 6 July 1998: 20+. Computer Database. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA20949721

Gale Document Number: GALE|A20949721


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