SHORT TAKES : Phone Firms Get Cable TV Lift

WASHINGTON — Most Americans would welcome cable television competition, according to a Gallup Poll released today by one of the telephone companies eager to get into the business.

A majority of those surveyed also said they would like to have two-way video services--such as movies on demand, library services and office-in-the-home--that could be provided through a network of high-capacity, fiber-optic telephone lines.

“This is a clear indication that the public would favor competition and innovation,” said Kent B. Foster, president of GTE Telephone Operations, which commissioned the study.

The poll results were released as congressional committees, beset by constituent complaints of high prices and poor service, consider legislation to re-regulate the cable industry.

A proposal by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) would lift some provisions of the 1984 Cable Act that prohibit companies such as GTE from providing video programming within their telephone service areas.

Other federal laws prohibit the seven regional Bell companies from selling cable TV programming. In April, 1989, GTE won a five-year waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to build a cable TV system and test a state-of-the-art fiber-optic cable system in Cerritos, Calif., where GTE also offers phone service.