Cable Franchise Review Committee

 Town Council Chambers

Tuesday, July 15, 2008   2:00 p.m.

Attendees:

Absent:

Bernard Gordon, Doug Poulin, Diane Hardy, Town Council representative Steve Minutelli, Ed Wojnowski, and Attorney Kate Miller of Donahue, Tucker and Ciandella, PLLC. Also, present, as Ms. Miller’s guest, was student, Molly Greenwood, who is interested in pursuing a career in law.Mark LaRoche, Superintendent of Schools, was excused.

Minutes of May 8, 2008

Discussion: None  

Minutes postponed until next  meeting. 

Meeting with Jay Somers, Comcast for Franchise Negotiations

Mr. Somers was introduced to the committee members. He said that he has received and review the draft Cable Franchise Agreement that was drafted by Attorney Miller. Before discussing the franchise, D. Hardy reported that the Town has received a complaint from a local resident who was upset that Comcast had moved four channels to Digital, recently. Jay Somers explained that this was part of an overall effort at Comcast to better meet the demand for High Definition (HD) services and advance digital services. Digital service will add clarity to cable.  As of July 15, the company is starting to move the service from analog to digital. They are offering a free digital box to customers for one year and a discount on additional units. Some customers are upset because they were moving four channels from the Basic line-up and are requiring the consumers to buy a converter box. The committee did not feel that it was right for Comcast to be taking away part of the service without compensating the customers in some fashion.  The rates would not go down. It was everyone’s understanding that the federal conversion would be “seamless” and current customers wouldn’t notice the difference. However, this new development seems to be inconsistent. It was suggested that this be addressed in some fashion in the new contract.  Jay Somers explained that was partially true and explained that there are two tiers of the conversion that being undertaken that by Comcast, and the broader federal conversion which is being mandated by the FCC.

The committee has received a response from Comcast on the request for I-Net. Unfortunately, they cannot honor the request at this time under the existing franchise. Mr. Somers explained that the technology has changed so much that there may be a more cost-effective way of achieving the same service with a different technology which is now being subcontracted through another vendor. If the Town can identified the locations where they would want the I-Net drops he would be willing to go back to speak with the technical people at Comcast to see what could be done. He would look into other alternatives. He said the cost would have to be amortized over the entire life of the franchise.

On the question of programming, that, too, would have to be considered as part of the new franchise. The Town needs to provide further documentation on the need for an additional channel. He asked Doug Poulin if he could share his programming logs to help further clarify the need for an additional channel. 

The committee asked Mr. Somers to put together a cost estimate for extending service to Harvest Way. He would also consult with the technical staff on the feasibility of doing so. It was suggested that the costs of the extension could be passed on to the consumer base over the life of the franchise, so that the entire cost would not have to be incurred by the 10-12 homeowners who lived there. Mr. Somers was not overly optimistic about the proposal for a la carte programming and C-Span as they have no control over programming. Mr. Gordon didn’t not understand why that would be the case as he found that the programming and service varies according to the region. He noted that in DC area the basic package includes C-Span and his digital converter box was upgraded at no charge. He emphatically suggested that some kind of side agreement be reached which included these additional services. Mr. Somers also said that it was not policy of his regional office to provide subsidies for low income or elderly subscribers. The committee ask if he could look into this further as that is what the consumers are saying is important in Newmarket given the survey that was done.

Next Meeting:

Discussion: The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 14, at 2:00 pm in the Town Council chambers to resume discussions.