Don't be fooled by the claim that customers will be better served if AT&T gains access to the video market via its corporate-welfare measure, House Bill 1500.

Of course, AT&T already has access to the cable TV market since cable franchising is non-exclusive. But what AT&T wants is favored status in that market as well as to stultify any new competitors that might emerge.

Even AT&T's chief executive officer, Ed Whitacre, has repeatedly refuted any consumer price benefits.

Most recently he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that after AT&T enters the video market, customers "should expect no change. We hope they buy more and the bill goes up."

The goal of increased competition and the development of networks that can provide both video and broadband Internet are laudable.

In today's connected world, access to robust networks means much more than just the opportunity to watch cable television.

If this bill fails to build out a fair and open broadband network, consumers will pay the price in poor cable competition and legislators will have enacted a law that widens the digital divide here in Illinois.

Beyond this, HB 1500 contains a litany of problems that must be addressed before lawmakers should support any changes to the cable market.

As promoted by AT&T, the legislation lacks any real enforcement, no penalties and will undermine current consumer protections that exist at the local level.

At the same time, HB 1500 erodes public, educational and government "PEG" channels, an important community benefit that gives every citizen a voice on a television system currently controlled by a small number of big media companies.

Finally, the legislation as drafted would ensure duopoly service in only the wealthiest areas, leaving most consumers, primarily in rural and poor communities, with no choice and no real price protections.

It's well established across the nation that requiring universal deployment of communications technologies is in the public interest.

State lawmakers should ensure all Illinoisans, not just a few, benefit from new technologies and consumer choice.

Opposition to AT&T's legislation has come from a wide range of consumer and public interest groups.

The Consumers Union, nonpartisan publisher of Consumer Reports, opposes HB 1500, adding, "The current franchise negotiation process is not broken."

Lawmakers are considering significant changes to the bill. That is a good thing for Illinois consumers.

It's clear a significant rewrite of the bill is needed to ensure that it adequately protects consumers, benefits the public interest and promotes meaningful competition.

That means universal build out of services to Illinois communities.

With the stakes so high these needed changes won't come easy, particularly since lawmakers are hearing more from AT&T lobbyists than from you - the consumer.

The industry has unleashed a blizzard of television advertisements and studies, all designed to promote the ruse that local franchises are stopping them from investing.

We don't have to look far to see the mistakes that can be made when industry has the upper hand.

Illinois electric consumers are now feeling the ill effects of a state deregulation scheme that predictably went horribly wrong.

Let's hope the General Assembly will not repeat the same mistake.