The original argument was that if cable television used city owned infrastructure to lay cable that the city should get access to the data stream those cables carried much like any other infrastructure. Public access television stations have always been funded through these fees, which in theory provide democratic access to city council meetings and access to the mass media that used to be only available to the very rich. Obviously the internet has changed everything, but this case could go a long way in funding citiesâ(TM) needs for information access in the 21st century.