Feeling any richer? According to cable and telco lobbyists, we should all soon reap billions of dollars in benefits from their competition.

Days after cable’s top lobbyist touted his industry’s ability to save consumers billions on phone service, a telco-backed organization is claiming major savings for consumers from competition in the video market.

Kyle McSlarrow, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, said this week that his analysis of J.D. Power & Associates data showed consumers could save $60 billion over five years, or $11.19 less per household per month, if they buy VoIP service from a cable company rather than traditional voice service from a telco. The pricing data came from J.D. Power’s most recent survey of phone service. McSlarrow’s analysis assumes cable VoIP service continues to be less expensive and is able to attract 85% of the voice market.

Today, Consumers for Cable Choice (C4CC), a lobbying group backing national video franchise efforts, said that consumers could save $7 billion a year if competition is allowed to drive down prices. That assumption is based on cable price reductions seen in areas such as Texas, where there is a statewide video franchise law and fledgling video competition from both AT&T and Verizon. Texas consumers are projected to save $600 million this year on cable rates.

Those savings include price reductions by incumbent cable companies to compete with AT&T’s U-Verse IPTV service, currently available in San Antonio, and Verizon’s FiOS TV, currently available in 17 Texas cities, including several suburbs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Using the Texas rates as a basis, the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies projected savings under nationwide cable competition of $7 billion a year.

According to C4CC, “dozens” of companies have filed for video franchise rights in Texas, including at least one rural company.

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